The Science of Steady: Reclaiming Your Health Through Nervous System Regulation

Chronic stress is often viewed as an unavoidable aspect of practicing law—usually managed by enduring both the causes of stress and the toll of stress on mental and physical wellness. Over the past decade as a well-being coach and trainer, I have regularly worked with clients to address and mitigate the mental and physical impact of professional stress. Most frequently, clients present with health conditions related to digestion, muscle tension, autoimmune disorders, disrupted sleep, and high blood pressure that persist even when workloads temporarily ease. Understanding how prolonged nervous system dysregulation creates imbalance across the body’s physiological systems is the first step to reclaiming our overall well-being.

Neuropsychobiology and the Law

How often do we as a legal community pause to consider how our current patterns of stress may be influencing our long-term health? Last fall, I created a course for the Buncombe County Bar (BCB) to do just that. The five-week CLE course, The Science of Steady: Mind-Body Skills to Regulate Stress in Challenging Times, educated participating lawyers and judges about the impact of nervous system dysregulation on mental health and physiological systems of the body through the lens of neuropsychobiology.

Neuropsychobiology is the study of how the brain, nervous system, physiological systems of the body, and emotions interact to shape perception, behavior, and physiological and psychological health—a big word for a concept that depicts what occurs internally at any given moment when practicing law. For example, neuropsychobiology is at play in a stressful courtroom interaction if an attorney’s nervous system’s fight response is activated. The fight response, once activated, can simultaneously:

● narrow cognitive focus impacting the attorney’s ability to remember facts (brain);

● increase heart rate and activate rapid breathing (respiratory system);

● elevate the stress hormone cortisol (endocrine system);

● tighten shoulder, jaw, and neck muscles (musculoskeletal system);

● elevate the attorney’s frustration (emotional response);

● cause the attorney to perceive the case as a “losing battle” (perception); and

● influence the attorney to advise the client to settle or plead instead of moving forward with litigation (behavior).

Each of these psychological and physiological impulses may happen lightning fast and outside of the attorney’s conscious awareness. Over time, stressful courtroom interactions that are not mitigated by nervous system regulation tools may cause the attorney to experience ongoing psychological anxiety (feeling of dread/fear) and corollary physiological anxiety (sensations of panic, elevated heart rate, high blood pressure) associated with going to court.

Nervous System’s Role in Stress and Physical Health

As illustrated in the example above, our bodies do not work in silos; everything is connected. The autonomic nervous system (ANS) regulates a surprisingly long list of essential bodily functions, including heart rate, breathing, digestion, immune activity, and hormone release, as well as blood pressure, body temperature, pupil dilation, sweat, bladder and bowel function, sexual arousal, sleep-wake rhythms, metabolic processes, and inflammatory responses. Have you experienced professional stress influencing these interconnected systems throughout your body?

The two primary branches of the ANS—the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system—support mobilization and recovery, respectively. The nervous system has the ability to “activate” or “up-regulate,” mobilizing us to accomplish all that we do in a day. A healthy nervous system is reliant upon the nervous system also being capable of “down-regulating,” allowing us to rest, reset, and recover. If the nervous system functions properly, it shifts smoothly between upregulated and downregulated nervous system states as needed, as well as idling in a state of ease when there’s no need for mobilization. This ability to shift states is critical for both physical wellness and cognitive performance. When the nervous system is well-regulated, it supports attention, memory, and problem-solving, while also enabling the brain to process information efficiently and adapt effectively to changing demands—all essential for practicing law.

Problems with Prolonged Stress

Problems arise when stress activation is prolonged and recovery is insufficient, which is a typical scenario for most of us in the legal profession. Attorneys and judges sustain a heavy cognitive load, adversarial dynamics, urgent requests, and elevated responsibility while working long hours with insufficient time for sleep and rest. All work and no play maintains the nervous system in a prolonged upregulated stress activation loop, which leads to long-term health consequences and diminished cognitive performance.

For example, Jordan is a transactional attorney and starts the day getting kids ready for school before jumping straight into overnight emails from opposing counsel and clients. The rest of the day is filled with drafting and revising agreements, back-to-back calls, and a midday negotiation that accelerates deadlines and raises stakes. The afternoon brings diligence issues, client questions, and meetings with multiple parties, overriding meals and breaks. On the commute home from work, Jordan responds to texts while listening to the news. After dinner and bedtime routines at home, Jordan works several more hours. With little downtime or recovery, Jordan’s nervous system stays in a prolonged upregulated state without completing its stress cycle. When it is time to sleep, Jordan’s chest is tight and mind is spinning which compromises needed recovery and sleep.

System-Wide Effects of Nervous System Dysregulation

Below is a list of examples of the effects of how chronic sympathetic nervous system activation impacts various physiological systems of the body.

Cardiovascular system

● Has been linked to: Sustained elevation of heart rate and blood pressure

● Health consequence: Increased risk of hypertension

Endocrine system (HPA axis)

● Has been linked to: Prolonged cortisol secretion

● Health consequence: Abdominal fat accumulation

Immune system

● Has been linked to: Impaired immune function

● Health consequence: Increased susceptibility to infections

Digestive (gastrointestinal) system

● Has been linked to: Reduced digestive motility and secretions

● Health consequence: Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)-type symptoms

Metabolic system

● Has been linked to: Increased insulin resistance

● Health consequence: Higher risk of type two diabetes

Musculoskeletal system

● Has been linked to: Persistent muscle tension

● Health consequence: Chronic physical pain

Respiratory system

● Has been linked to: Rapid, shallow breathing patterns

● Health consequence: Shortness of breath, lightheadedness

Reproductive system

● Has been linked to: Suppression of gonadotropin release

● Health consequence: Reduced fertility or impaired reproductive function

Renal/fluid regulation system

● Has been linked to: Increased sodium and fluid retention

● Health consequence: Elevated blood pressure

Integumentary system (skin, hair)

● Has been linked to: Reduced peripheral circulation

● Health consequence: Delayed wound healing

Sleep and circadian regulation

● Has been linked to: Hyperarousal of the nervous system

● Health consequence: Insomnia

While these health issues do not arise from nervous system activity alone, and the physiology behind them is complex, chronic sympathetic nervous system activation can erode physiological resilience and contribute to their onset and progression over time. Do any of the examples on the list reflect health concerns that you or a colleague have been addressing?

Becoming an Active Operator of Your Nervous System

A central premise of The Science of Steady is that participants can become what my teacher and Applied Polyvagal Theory expert Deb Dana calls an “active operator of your own nervous system,” rather than floundering under stress. As Deb emphasizes, “The goal is not to eliminate stress, but to become an active operator of your nervous system.” By learning to respond effectively to stress and consciously engage the parasympathetic nervous system to return to baseline, we can optimize physical health, enhance professional performance, and experience greater enjoyment in life.

It is empowering to learn that we can influence our own body’s stress response and therefore reclaim our health through nervous system regulation. Science of Steady course participants learned mindfulness skills to identify when and how their systems were having a neuropsychobiological response to stress, as well as tools to regulate their stress response in the body as it arises. Through guided meditations, participants tuned into different physiological systems looking for clues of chronic stress and nervous system dysregulation. Identifying the clues is the first step toward rest and recovery.

Effective Frameworks for Neuropsychobiological Health

Using neuropsychobiology to examine lawyers’ and judges’ health introduces an innovative framework for understanding and mitigating stress while optimizing resilience and performance in our profession. From my experience offering individual coaching and organizational trainings, the frameworks that most successfully support self-regulation and neuropsychobiological restoration draw from the following modalities:

Somatic intelligence—ability to recognize early signs of stress and calm your system at the first signs of stress; example: noticing shoulder tension or a racing heartbeat from an urgent email and pausing to breathe before responding.

Expanded capacity of your “Window of Tolerance”1—ability to remain functional under pressure; example: remaining clear-headed during tense negotiations or back-to-back hearings without feeling overwhelmed.

Mind-body regulation practices—ability to stay connected to the body during mental stress; example: stretching, shaking out tension, or taking a few slow breaths between calls to restore focus.

Connection with body systems—incorporating guided meditations to support stress-affected systems; example: performing a brief body scan and consciously softening tight areas.

Nervous system regulating practices—utilizing intentional stress recovery tools to down- or upregulate when stress arises; example: pausing after a contentious call for three deep breaths to reset before the next task.

By applying skills gleaned from these frameworks while practicing law or adjudicating cases, lawyers and judges can become “active operators of their own nervous system” and utilize the skills to counteract the long term physical toll of chronic stress by integrating short practices into their day.

Applying Frameworks to Workday

What if Jordan, in the above example, had learned and applied these skills while navigating an otherwise “upregulated” day? Imagine this:

Jordan starts the morning present with kids as they get ready for school before responding to overnight emails.

Somatic intelligence: Reading the urgent threads, Jordan notices signs of tension and pauses for a slow exhale before responding, keeping communication clear instead of reactive. The day shifts into drafts, revisions, and back-to-back calls.

Expanded Window of Tolerance: During an intense midday negotiation that compresses timelines, Jordan works mindfully and steadily and stays strategic and organized rather than overwhelmed, saving time and avoiding costly mistakes.

Mind-body regulation practices: Between calls, Jordan stands, stretches, and takes three slow breaths to reset, allowing the musculoskeletal system a chance to ease up.

Connection with body systems: Jordan takes a 20-minute, phone-free lunch break and eats looking out the break room window at the sky. Before getting on a video conference, Jordan softens tight abdominal areas to optimize digestion while more easily focusing on client matters after fueling up.

Nervous system regulating practices: Jordan downregulates in the car on the commute home, singing along to a favorite playlist and then savors making dinner with the family. Later that night, Jordan sets a timer to stay focused and contain the time spent responding to end of day emails. Before bed, Jordan takes one final self-regulation pause, letting out a long sigh before turning out the lights and getting a restful night’s sleep.

Net effect: Jordan’s workload did not change, but Jordan’s productivity, professionalism, and physiological health all improved. Instead of staying in prolonged upregulation throughout the day, Jordan’s small breaks make recovery and sleep much easier.

Learning Together

The most rewarding part of teaching this first-of-its-kind course was connecting with the lawyers and judges who showed up with the interest to learn the concepts and the curiosity to practice the skills as a group. Their participation demonstrated that nervous system regulation is a learnable, evidence-based skill set—one that allows us to do good work while feeling good doing it. As one participant reflected, “These practices really work! My mind did not want to believe it, but I always felt better, more calm, and connected after each session.” Another shared, “It was incredibly helpful to take the time to figure out how the body and mind can work together to keep me calm and focused to do my job effectively.” In a field known for stress and its toll on well-being, these skills offer a path toward becoming “active operators of our own legal practice.” My hope is that with intention and time, they foster improved health, longer careers, and greater satisfaction in our work. 

Laura Mahr is a North Carolina and Oregon lawyer and the founder of Conscious Legal Minds LLC, providing well-being consulting, training, and resilience coaching for attorneys and law offices nationwide. Laura brings lived experience and compassion to thousands of lawyers, judges, and support staff each year in her writing, coaching, and CLE trainings. Her work is informed by 13 years of practice as a civil sexual assault attorney, 30 years as a teacher and student of mindfulness and yoga, and ten years studying neurobiology and neuropsychology with clinical pioneers. If you would like to learn more about how to bring The Science of Steady to your firm or organization or how to reclaim your health through nervous system regulation, contact Laura at www.consciouslegalminds.com.

Endnote

1. Window of Tolerance is a concept grounded in research on autonomic regulation and trauma responses popularized through the work of Dr. Dan Siegel, clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine.