15 Nov How to shift your nervous system in less than 60 seconds

If you struggle with low energy, lack of motivation, or feeling stuck in procrastination, you’re likely experiencing nervous system dysregulation. This simple breathwork technique helps shift your state from hypoarousal to your optimal Window of Tolerance in under a minute.

I keep this Post-It on my computer to remind myself to SHIFT MY STATE.

I tend to wallow when I’m feeling flat. To beat myself up for not being productive. To wish I had more drive. Of course I know fully well that wishing and wallowing doesn’t do anything for me. Action does.

So I need a physical cue to remind me that focus, energy, motivation are states I need to actively create.

The Breath Technique: From Hypoarousal to Energized

An easy and quick way to do that, especially when you’re already sitting down behind your computer, is using your breath to generate energy:

• Take 15 seconds of vigorous, deep breathing: inhale strongly through your nose, exhale with a quick, powerful “ha” or “pah” sound
• Hold on full lungs for 6-15 seconds
• Repeat for 2-4 rounds

You might feel a bit silly but you’ll quickly get over that once you realize that you’re creating a very rapid physiological shift in your system:

Activating sympathetic nervous system, raising your heart rate, flooding your system with epinephrine.

Epinephrine (also known as adrenaline) is the body’s rapid-deployment ‘go’ signal.

In the right amounts, it makes you alert, focused, and energized—that in-the-zone state where distractions fade and you feel a forward pull. And you can generate it simply by using your breath.

It’s like flipping the switch from inertia to momentum.

After a few rounds, you’re ready to move. To start. To do the thing.

Understanding Your Window of Tolerance

The other half of my Post-It is about the Window of Tolerance (by Dr. Dan Siegel), a nervous system regulation framework I use every day and work through with every client.

I regularly check in with myself: Am I in my window (calm, present, curious)? Or have I shifted into hyperarousal (stressed, anxious, overwhelmed) or hypoarousal (numb, checked out, procrastinating)? If so, what can I do to shift my state?

Early Warning Signs of Dysregulation

Most people can’t name what state they’re in until they’re deep into nervous system dysregulation. By the time you recognize “I’m really stressed,” you’ve already been in hyperarousal for hours, maybe days. Or you’ve been feeling unmotivated for a week, beating yourself up, not realizing this is a hypoarousal state, not a character flaw.

Learning to recognize these states early—through body signals, thought patterns, behavioral cues—gives you intervention points for nervous system regulation. Once you know where you are, you can use the right body-based tools to shift back. From breathwork to grounding to shaking to humming. So many somatic techniques at our disposal.

So for me, the Post-It is more than a reminder. It’s proof that I don’t have to wait for the right state to show up. I can create it.