NOTE: About the New Vitality Cycle Series
Each month, we move through a four-part rhythm that mirrors your body’s natural healing flow — the Vitality Cycle.
Over four weeks we explore:
- Week 1 – Hormones & Detox
- Week 2 – Nervous System Reset
- Week 3 – Mind-Body-Spirit Healing
- Week 4 – Lifestyle & Daily Rituals for Renewal
Last week, we looked at how synthetic hormones and toxins disrupt estrogen and progesterone balance.
This week, we’re going deeper — into the master switch behind all hormonal harmony: your nervous system.
Your Nervous System: The Hidden Hormone Regulator
by Lori Finlay, MSN, NP, CNS — Functional Medicine Practitioner & Vitality Mentor
“Your nervous system health and stress levels show up in your hormone lab results — I see it on DUTCH tests all the time.” — Lori Finlay
The Silent Conversation Between Stress and Hormones
Every system in your body listens to your nervous system.
When you’re calm and grounded, your Pretty Safe Nervous System (PSNS) tells your body it’s okay to rest, digest, detoxify, and reproduce.
This is where balanced hormones are born.
But when you live in SNS — the Sympathetic or what I call the “Survival Nervous System” your body’s priority shifts to survival and searching for safety.
Blood moves away from your digestive organs and reproductive system, flooding your muscles and brain with cortisol and adrenaline.
The result?
- Cortisol and insulin spike.
- Progesterone drops.
- Estrogen becomes dominant. For more info read this blog post.
- Thyroid conversion slows.
The body doesn’t know the difference between being chased by a tiger and checking your phone at midnight while worrying about everyone else.
Chronic stress steals from your hormones to fund your survival.
And yes — we see this on lab work all the time.
On the DUTCH Test, cortisol patterns (the Cortisol Awakening Response or CAR) spike very high (during an acute stress), DHEA drops, and estrogen or progesterone ratios shift.
Your nervous system literally writes its story in your hormone results.
When the stress continues long term, the DUTCH test reveals cortisol levels that are flattening, heading burnout.
The Hidden Belief That Keeps Women Stuck
Many women live decades in their Survival Nervous System — not because they choose to, but because they’ve been conditioned to.
Somewhere along the way, we learned that asking for help meant weakness.
That we needed to “push through.”
That being self-sufficient made us valuable.
But what it really did was make us exhausted.
When you never learned how to receive, your body never learned how to rest.
And when your body can’t rest, your hormones can’t repair.
This pattern isn’t just personal — it’s generational.
Many women modeled their energy patterns after mothers who were also overextended, under-supported, and running on adrenaline.
Healing means rewriting that pattern — for yourself, and the women who come after you.
The Science (Simplified)
Your brain’s hypothalamus and pituitary are the master conductors of your hormone symphony.
They control your thyroid, adrenals, and ovaries — together called the HPA–T–O Axis (Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal–Thyroid–Ovarian).
When stress hormones stay high, the hypothalamus downregulates reproductive hormone signaling to conserve energy .
That’s why chronic stress can cause:
- Irregular or missing periods
- Fertility struggles
- Weight gain (especially around the middle)
- Hot flashes, night sweats, and anxiety during perimenopause
Your hormones are listening to your nervous system 24/7.
How to Support Your “Pretty Safe Nervous System”
You don’t have to overhaul your life.
Small, consistent choices send the biggest message of safety.
1. Breathe on purpose.
Slow, diaphragmatic breathing lowers cortisol and boosts progesterone .
2. Move for regulation, not punishment.
Gentle, rhythmic movement (like walking, stretching, or dance) restores vagal tone and helps your body shift out of Survival Mode.
3. Nourish predictability.
Consistent meal times, bedtime routines, and morning light exposure remind your body it’s safe.
4. Allow and receive.
Practice asking for small bits of help daily.
Receiving support teaches your nervous system that safety doesn’t only come from control.
5. Practice faith and stillness.
Prayer, meditation, or time in nature reinforces that you are held — body, mind, and spirit.
Healing your hormones starts by healing your sense of safety.
Your Next Step
Your nervous system health and stress levels show up in your hormone lab results — I see it on DUTCH tests all the time.
If your hormones are out of sync, your body may be asking for safety, not just supplements.
Let’s explore what your results are really trying to tell you.
Schedule a complimentary 15–20 minute Vitality Consult here
Together we’ll create a plan to calm your nervous system, rebalance your hormones, and restore your vitality from the inside out.
Lori
References
1. Fries, E., et al. The Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal Axis and Stress. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2015.
2. La Marca, A., et al. Cortisol and Reproductive Function in Women. Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology. 2018.
3. Herman, J.P. & Cullinan, W.E. Neurocircuitry of Stress: Central Control of the HPA Axis. Trends in Neurosciences. 2016.
4. Russo, M.A. et al. The Physiological Effects of Slow Breathing in Humans. Breathe (BMJ). 2017.
