When the News Follows Us Into Our Dreams: Regulating a Hypervigilant Nervous System
How to Calm Hypervigilance and Regulate Your Nervous System
As a therapist, I’ve been noticing a new trend in my work: more and more clients are experiencing nightmares connected to current events in America.
What does this mean? It shows that the constant stream of distressing news we’re exposed to every day isn’t just overwhelming during the day—it’s following us into the night. Instead of restorative rest, many are finding their sleep disrupted, leaving them even more depleted.
I believe this is connected to what I call the growing “hum” of hypervigilance. For individuals already carrying fear or anxiety, the nervous system remains on high alert, scanning for threats long after the day is done.
What is Hypervigilance?
Hypervigilance is the body’s way of saying: “I don’t feel safe.” The nervous system switches into survival mode, constantly searching for danger—even when no immediate threat is present.
Over time, this heightened alert state can lead to:
Irritability and mood swings
Exhaustion and chronic fatigue
Poor sleep or nightmares
Difficulty relaxing or focusing
The good news is that there are proven nervous system regulation techniques that can help calm hypervigilance and restore balance.
How to Calm Hypervigilance and Anxiety
Grounding Practices for Anxiety
Grounding helps bring your body back into the present moment. Focus on your breath, notice the sensations in your body, or observe small details in your environment. Allow thoughts to arise, and then let them drift away like waves returning to the ocean.
Meditation for Nervous System Regulation
Even just a few minutes of meditation can help signal safety to your nervous system, quiet the mind, and reduce stress-related hyperarousal.
Community and Co-Regulation
Connection is essential for nervous system health. Spend time with trusted friends or family, check in on loved ones, or get to know someone new. Safe, supportive relationships provide opportunities for co-regulation—our nervous systems “borrow calm” from others.
Core Principles of Nervous System Regulation
Pendulation: Move gently between stress and relaxation. Flexibility, not stillness, is the goal.
Bottom-up regulation: Use the body (breath, movement, sensation) rather than thoughts alone.
Safety cues: Create reminders of safety through predictable routines, soothing spaces, and relationships.
Gradual titration: Release stress in small amounts instead of overwhelming the system.
Techniques for Hypervigilance (Over-activation)
Breathwork: Inhale for 4, exhale for 6–8 to calm the vagus nerve.
Orienting: Slowly look around and name what you see in your environment.
Grounding through touch: Weighted blankets, pressing feet into the ground, or holding a warm mug.
Rhythmic movement: Walking, drumming, rocking.
Brief cold exposure: Splash cold water on your face or hold an ice cube to reset fight-or-flight.
Techniques for Over-Control (Freeze, Rigidity, Collapse)
Sometimes the nervous system goes into shutdown instead of overdrive. Here we aim for gentle reactivation:
Energizing breath: Quick inhales and exhales (such as “breath of fire”).
Playful movement: Dance, shake out the body, bounce on your heels.
Sound: Humming, chanting, or singing to stimulate vagal tone.
Creativity: Free drawing, music, or playful writing.
Micro-risk-taking: Safely breaking small rules (like trying a new route to work) to reduce rigidity.
A Daily Nervous System Regulation Routine
Morning: Gentle stretching and paced breathing.
Midday: Step outside, walk, and notice the horizon.
Afternoon: Take a short shake-out break or play uplifting music.
Evening: Warm shower or bath, then journal to release the day.
Before sleep: Long exhale breathing, dim lights, and use a weighted blanket if desired.
Try This Now: A Short Grounding Exercise
Sit comfortably with both feet on the floor.
Inhale through your nose for a count of four.
Exhale through your mouth for a count of six. Repeat three times.
Use the “5-4-3-2-1” method: name five things you see, four things you touch, three things you hear, two things you smell, and one thing you taste.
Place your hand over your heart and tell yourself: “In this moment, I am safe.”
Even two minutes of this grounding exercise can calm an overactive nervous system.
Final Thoughts on Managing Hypervigilance
If you’re experiencing nightmares, anxiety, or ongoing stress symptoms, you’re not alone. Hypervigilance is a natural response to overwhelming circumstances, but it doesn’t have to control your days—or your nights.
With grounding practices, nervous system regulation techniques, and supportive community, you can begin to reclaim rest, presence, and safety.
As always, our therapists are here to help. If you are struggling and would like additional support, please reach out. You don’t have to navigate this alone.
