Optimal Living Daily - Personal Development and Self-Improvement 3945: Everything You Need to Know About Your Nervous System by Kate Hesse of Nourish Nest Breathe
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Mar 15, 2026 Kate Hesse, a wellness writer and practitioner focused on nervous system regulation, breaks down sympathetic versus parasympathetic responses. She explores why modern life causes chronic stress. Practical topics include breathing techniques, restorative practices, and realistic expectations for shifting into rest and recovery.
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Modern Stress Triggers An Ancient Survival Response
- The body responds to modern day stressors the same way it would to life-threatening danger via the sympathetic fight/flight/freeze response.
- Kate Hesse explains the body floods with adrenaline and cortisol for deadlines or traffic, causing chronic activation when stress is constant.
Parasympathetic State Refuels Your Body
- The parasympathetic state restores bodily functions by slowing heart and respiration and reallocating energy to digestion and reproduction.
- Hesse uses the savanna example: after escaping a lion you shift from survival mode into rest and digest to refill resources.
Chronic Stress Harms Digestion And Promotes Belly Fat
- Chronic sympathetic activation impairs digestion and increases belly fat via excess cortisol, producing ripple health consequences.
- Hesse notes that eating before prolonged stress leaves food undigested and contributes to long-term weight gain and poor digestion.