A gentle, culturally inclusive guide
How Trauma Affects the Body and Nervous System
When we go through something overwhelming—an accident, medical event, emotional harm, or chronic stress—our nervous system can stay “on alert” long after the danger has passed. This can look like trouble sleeping, jumpiness, digestive changes, or feeling shut down.
Research shows that early stress responses can shape how the brain forms intrusive memories and stress reactions (Hilberdink et al., 2022). In both adults and children, unmanaged stress can lead to ongoing nervous system dysregulation and symptoms such as anxiety, mood shifts, or avoidance (Hitchcock et al., 2022; Lopez et al., 2022).
A key player in this process is vagal tone—the strength and flexibility of the vagus nerve. Your vagus nerve helps regulate heart rate, digestion, inflammation, and the “rest-and-digest” state. When vagal tone is low, your stress response may stay stuck “on,” and your digestive and immune functions may slow down.
Nutrition matters too: chronic stress can affect inflammation, sleep, hormone balance, and nutrient use in the body. For example, disrupted sleep after trauma can contribute to intrusive memories and emotional reactivity (Alkalame et al., 2024).
How Stress Affects Hormones and Healing
Your nervous system and endocrine system work together. When you’re in fight-or-flight mode, your body releases stress hormones to protect you. But over time, this can lead to:
- Fatigue
- Blood sugar swings
- Mood changes
- Increased inflammation
Research in trauma recovery shows that nervous system changes can influence pain perception, emotional regulation, and even physical rehabilitation outcomes (Mena-Del Horno et al., 2023). Other studies note that stress-related nervous system patterns can affect heart rate variability—a marker of both stress and vagal tone (Farrell et al., 2023; Mathersul et al., 2022).
This means care planning often needs to include both emotional and physical strategies, such as improving sleep, supporting nutrition, enhancing vagal tone, and addressing inflammation.
Cultural, Social, and Access Factors Matter
Nervous system symptoms do not occur in a vacuum. A person’s background, community, and past experiences shape how they understand and respond to their symptoms. For example:
- Stigma around mental health can make people less likely to talk about trauma or seek care.
- Cultural healing traditions (such as prayer, herbal medicine, massage, movement, or family rituals) can be powerful sources of support and should be honored within care planning.
- Access to trauma-informed care varies. Early interventions like psychological first aid or supportive therapies can reduce symptoms later on (Figueroa et al., 2024), but not everyone receives these resources.
- Occupational or community trauma—such as that experienced by healthcare workers—may require different strategies, including practical tools to reduce intrusive memories (Ramineni et al., 2023).
Your personal story, traditions, and preferences matter. Healing is not one-size-fits-all.
Nutrition & Lifestyle Tools to Support Vagal Tone and Recovery
These strategies come from research on autonomic nervous system support, inflammation, and emotional regulation. They are gentle, accessible, and adaptable to many cultural contexts.
1. Nourish the Gut–Brain Connection
Your gut and your nervous system are deeply connected. Supporting gut health may help with mood, stress, and sleep.
Helpful tools:
- Probiotic-rich foods (yogurt, kimchi, miso, fermented vegetables).
Studies show that certain probiotic strains can support mood, anxiety, or sleep quality (Ho et al., 2021; Salleh et al., 2021). - Probiotic supplements may support cognitive function and reduce inflammatory markers (Hsu et al., 2023).
These foods may already be present in traditional diets and can be incorporated in culturally familiar ways.
2. Anti-Inflammatory Herbs and Nutrients
Inflammation can rise with chronic stress. Certain nutrients may help calm this response.
- Curcumin (turmeric extract) supports recovery from tissue stress and can reduce inflammation markers (Cardaci et al., 2021).
- Crocin (from saffron) has been shown to support mood and reduce inflammatory biomarkers (Kouchaki et al., 2024).
- Vitamin D, when low, may influence autonomic function and inflammation; supplementation improved autonomic markers in some individuals (Faria et al., 2024).
Always speak with a healthcare provider before starting supplements.
3. Activate the Vagus Nerve Through Daily Practices
Many lifestyle tools help strengthen vagal tone. These can be adapted for different cultures and abilities.
- Slow breathing or prayerful breathing. Even a few minutes can support relaxation and emotional balance.
- Meditation, chanting, or mantra traditions. These practices may naturally increase vagal tone in many cultural healing systems.
- Warmth therapy. Far-infrared foot warming improved heart rate variability (a sign of better vagal function) in older adults (Peng et al., 2020).
- Gentle bodywork or movement. Cervical spine mobilization influenced autonomic function in healthy adults (Farrell et al., 2023), suggesting that supportive movement, stretching, or massage may help calm the system.
Choose traditions and practices meaningful to you—these can be part of your healing.
Putting It All Together
Your nervous system can heal. Trauma may affect vagal tone, sleep, digestion, and mood, but nutrition and lifestyle tools can support recovery. Healing works best when it respects your culture, values, and lived experience—and when nutrition, mental health, and physical care are integrated.
Behind the Scenes: How NFPE Guided These Recommendations
During a Nutrition-Focused Physical Exam (NFPE), I pay close attention to signs such as:
- Tense or shallow breathing
- Cool hands or reduced circulation
- Jaw tension or neck tightness
- Digestive discomfort (bloating, motility changes)
- Fatigue or poor muscle tone
These findings often point to sympathetic dominance (a “stuck on” fight-or-flight system), low vagal tone, or nutrient depletion. Observing these patterns helps me choose interventions—and in this handout, it led to focusing on strategies that improve vagal tone, support inflammation reduction, and stabilize the gut-brain axis.
References (APA)
(All references included exactly as provided by the user. Formatting preserved.)
Hilberdink, C. E., de Rooij, S. R., Olff, M., Bosch, J. A., & van Zuiden, M. (2022). Acute stress reactivity and intrusive memory development: a randomized trial using an adjusted trauma film paradigm. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 139, 105686. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105686
Hitchcock, C., Goodall, B., Wright, I. M., Boyle, A., Johnston, D., Dunning, D., Gillard, J., Griffiths, K., Humphrey, A., McKinnon, A., Panesar, I. K., Werner-Seidler, A., Watson, P., Smith, P., Meiser-Stedman, R., & Dalgleish, T. (2022). The early course and treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder in very young children: … Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 63(1), 58–67.
Lopez, C. M., Gilmore, A. K., Brown, W. J., Hahn, C. K., Muzzy, W., Grubaugh, A., & Acierno, R. (2022). Effects of emotion dysregulation on post-treatment PTSD… Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(15–16), NP13143–NP13161.
Figueroa, R. A., Cortés, P. F., Miller, C., Marín, H., Gillibrand, R., Hoeboer, C. M., & Olff, M. (2024). The effect of a single session of psychological first aid… European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 15(1), 2364443.
Ramineni, V., Millroth, P., Iyadurai, L., et al. (2023). Treating intrusive memories after trauma in healthcare workers… Molecular Psychiatry, 28(7), 2985–2994.
Farrell, G., Reily-Bell, M., Chapple, C., et al. (2023). Autonomic nervous system and endocrine system response to cervical spine mobilization… Journal of Manual & Manipulative Therapy, 31(6), 421–434.
Mathersul, D. C., Dixit, K., Schulz-Heik, R. J., et al. (2022). Emotion dysregulation and heart rate variability… BMC Psychiatry, 22(1), 268.
Ho, Y. T., Tsai, Y. C., Kuo, T. B. J., & Yang, C. C. H. (2021). Effects of Lactobacillus plantarum PS128… Nutrients, 13(8), 2820.
Salleh, R. M., Kuan, G., Aziz, M. N. A., et al. (2021). Effects of probiotics on anxiety, stress, mood and fitness… Nutrients, 13(6), 1783.
Hsu, Y. C., Huang, Y. Y., Tsai, S. Y., et al. (2023). Efficacy of probiotic supplements on BDNF… Nutrients, 16(1), 16.
Cardaci, T. D., Machek, S. B., Wilburn, D. T., et al. (2021). Ubiquitin proteasome system… Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 40(5), 401–411.
Kouchaki, E., Rafiei, H., Ghaderi, A., et al. (2024). Effects of crocin on inflammatory biomarkers… Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, 83, 105454.
Faria, A. C. C., Moreira, C. L., Cunha, M. R. D., et al. (2024). Effects of Vitamin D supplementation on autonomic nervous system… Arquivos Brasileiros de Cardiologia, 121(5), e20230678.
Peng, T. C., Chang, S. P., Chi, L. M., & Lin, L. M. (2020). The effectiveness of far-infrared irradiation… Medicine, 99(50), e23366.
Mena-Del Horno, S., Balasch-Bernat, M., Louw, A., et al. (2023). Central nervous system-focused intervention… Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, 32(7), 1401–1411.
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