4 Hidden Internal Factors that might be Dysregulating Your Nervous System

For the majority of us, when we think of stress we immediately think of mental and emotional stress. Common sources include work related pressures, financial worries, relationship conflicts, major life transitions and traumatic experiences. This may include symptoms and experiences of overwhelm, anxiety, sadness, depression, frustration and burnout. Our nervous system is constantly surveying our environment, programming and reprogramming pathways to respond accordingly, ultimately to try and keep us safe. A dysregulated nervous system can occur anywhere along these systems, and this affects the body’s ability to respond and adapt to both internal and external stimuli. Although mental emotional stress can be a very common source of nervous system dysregulation, it’s only one factor. When someone presents with symptoms of a dysregulated nervous system such as panic attacks, anxiety, and or low mood, we also always want to consider any potential internal stressors that are affecting the nervous system.

Let’s dive into four major and common sources of internal stress:

1. Blood Sugar & Insulin Regulation 

Both high, low, and abnormal fluctuations of blood sugar can throw off the nervous system. Blood sugar and insulin regulation is fundamentally one of the most important processes that impacts almost every system in our body. When blood sugar drops low, it’s like we are driving our car and the gas light comes on, and a flashing orange signal comes across your dashboard. The same thing happens in our body, when blood sugar drops below a certain level, it activates a stress response in our body. Cortisol, one of our main stress hormones comes in to tell the liver to break down glycogen (storage form of glucose), to refill the tank, and bring blood sugar levels up to a safe range. This can present as symptoms of dizziness, shakiness, headaches and anxiety especially if it is happening often throughout the day. We also see dysregulation when glucose and insulin levels are high – this can lead to something called neuroinflammation. Not only do high levels of glucose create microvascular damage impairing blood flow and oxygen delivery to our neurons, but hyperinsulinemia can also cause inflammatory changes in the brain, which alters how our receptors respond to our neurotransmitters and hormones. In between lows and highs, we also know abnormal glucose variability or fluctuations impact neural function, and that glycemic variability has been linked to cognitive impairment, mood disturbances, and alterations in brain structure and function. Testing your individual glucose and insulin response, in addition to the use of continuous glucose monitors in certain scenarios can provide valuable insight to assess how to support this area, and whether this is a contributing factor to your stress. 

2. Inflammation

Inflammation can impact mental health and stress through a variety of pathways that involve the intricate communication between the immune system and the brain. In the face of inflammation, different inflammatory compounds are released. One type of inflammatory compounds, called cytokines have been found to influence neuronal circuits involved in emotional regulation. We also know that activated immune cells in the brain can release inflammatory mediators that have the ability to alter synaptic responses – how our neurotransmitters like serotonin, GABA, and dopamine bind to receptors. In addition, inflammatory mediators in of themselves have been found to alter the release and balance of these neurotransmitters. Under periods of chronic inflammation, we have seen both structural and functional changes to different regions of the brain – this can alter emotional processing, fear regulation, and cognitive function.  There are some tests where we can measure inflammation such as CRP and ESR; however, not all inflammatory pathways can be measured in blood work. There are processes called “sterile inflammation” pathways, which is essentially when the body gets stuck in an inflammatory loop – this is not typically seen in blood work as evidently, and a careful case history is essential.  

3. Nutrient Deficiencies 

The reality is that as a population, the majority is very nutrient deficient. This may be for a variety of reasons including diet, lifestyle, the quality of our soil in which food is grown, as well as our exposure to adequate UV rays. Several nutrient deficiencies can be a source of internal stress, which manifests as anxiety, low mood, and nervous system dysregulation. Common nutrient deficiencies include iron, Vitamin D, B-vitamins, and magnesium.  Vitamin D plays an essential role in brain function, neurotransmitter synthesis, and regulation of mood – it is a very common deficiency here in Canada and testing is recommended to assess proper dosing of supplementation. Our B vitamins are also involved in many biochemical processes that regulate mood, neurotransmitter synthesis, and methylation reactions. Magnesium is a mineral that is involved in over 300 enzymatic reactions in the body, including neurotransmitter synthesis and neuronal function. Low levels of magnesium have been linked to anxiety, depression, and insomnia. Iron is essential for oxygen transport, energy metabolism, and neurotransmitter synthesis in the brain. A deficiency in iron can lead to fatigue, cognitive impairment and mood disturbances. Proper blood work can assess for many of these nutrients, and if deficient, can be supplemented or obtained through diet to optimize levels.  

4. Hidden Infections 

Our brain and our gut microbiome have a very strong connection.  Changes to our gut microbiome can directly be a source of internal stress, through various mechanisms including changes to neurotransmitter production, inflammation, immune activation, and disruption of the blood brain barrier. This may be overgrowth of “bad” bugs in the gut, low levels of “good” bugs, or it can even be stealthy infections like a virus that we came into contact with or became re-activated that is causing a stress response internally in our bodies. In some scenarios people may present with gut health symptoms such as alterations to bowel movements, gas and bloating, abdominal pain. In other situations we may see that a “never well since” point has been from some sort of infection or virus. 

When considering stress and mental health, it is essential to support both external and internal sources of stress. If we were to think of the nervous system in terms of a bucket analogy, we can easily see that if we have blood sugar dysregulation, inflammation, nutrient deficiencies and or gut microbiome challenges that our nervous system is already ¾ of the way fill. How I think about that, is that then when we encounter sources of external stress, there isn’t a large buffer room there for our nervous system. When we can work to eliminate and support some of these sources of internal stress, all of a sudden we can build in resilience, our coping strategies become more effective, and we have the ability to manage our mental emotional stress in a much more clear direction. 

Author:
Dr. Lauryn Dingwall