Your Body Really Does Keep The Score
Mar 23, 2026
Let's talk about what your body has been trying to tell you.
You already know you are exhausted.
But while you have been pushing through, managing it, keeping everything moving - your body has been quietly keeping score.
Not metaphorically. Physiologically.
Unlike most people believe burnout is not just a mental state, it's a full body event. Physical signs often arrive long before the brain fog and emotional flatness that most people associate with burning out.
This edition is about those signs and I'll be introducing you to one part of your nervous system that most people have never heard of, but it's the part of the body that holds the key to why rest alone is not enough to "fix" burnout.
The Education Bit
When you are under chronic stress, the kind that does not switch off between meetings, between days, between weekends- your body keeps running its stress response.
It keeps releasing cortisol, which in the short term this is useful. Cortisol is an energy deploying hormone, it sharpens you up, mobilises your resources, gets you ready for whatever is in front of you.
The problem is your body was never designed to run like this for long.
Over time, sustained cortisol elevation starts to affect almost everything. Immune function drops. Digestion is disrupted. Sleep deteriorates. Inflammation rises.
What Your Body Is Telling You
Getting ill more than you used to.
Chronic stress suppresses immune function over time. Catching everything that goes around, taking longer to recover than before, a general low feeling that never quite resolves, these are signs the cortisol level is too high.
Exhausted but unable to switch off.
You feel exhausted but cannot fall asleep. Waking at 3am with the mind already running. This happens because our cortisol level, which should be low at night, stays elevated, keeping the nervous system on alert when it should be winding down.
Digestion that has changed.
Bloating, reflux, an unsettled stomach with no obvious cause. Under chronic stress, the body diverts blood flow away from digestion. The gut is one of the first places the cost of sustained pressure shows up. This is one symptom that people often miss but is often the first to appear.
Tension that has become invisible.
Tight jaw. Tense shoulders. Headaches. Lower back pain. Chronic stress keeps muscles in a low state of contraction. Many high performers carry this so constantly it has become their normal. They do not notice that they are so tense. Pause right now and just do a quick head to toe muscle check to see where you are carrying your tension.
Skin, hair or cycle changes that seem unrelated.
These are frequently dismissed as separate issues. They are often not. Hormonal disruption from sustained stress shows up in many more ways than most people realise.
The Vagus Nerve - Why It Matters
Most people have never heard of the vagus nerve. But it might be the most important thing to understand if you are burnt out.
The vagus nerve is incredible, it is the longest nerve in your body. It runs from your brainstem through your neck, heart, lungs and gut connecting your brain to almost every major organ. Imagine it like a map of energy flowing to all the nerves in the body.
It is the primary nerve of your parasympathetic nervous system. The part responsible for rest, recovery and repair. The opposite to the fight or flight response that chronic stress keeps triggering.
When you have been running on high alert for a long time, your vagal tone (the health and responsiveness of this nerve) becomes compromised.
A well-functioning vagus nerve helps you shift smoothly from stress (fight or flight) back to calm. When vagal tone is low, that shift stops working properly.
This is why you feel wired and exhausted at the same time. The brake pedal stops working and you stop being able to regulate.
The good news is that we can regulate our vagus nerve very easily which signals to our body to calm down and helps us to manage our emotions.
You can literally signal to your nervous system that it is safe to come offline.
How To Regulate It
Extended exhale breathing.
A longer out breath than in breath directly stimulates the vagus nerve.
Breathe in for four counts, out for eight. Three minutes of this measurably shifts your physiological state. This is not just relaxation, it is a direct input to your nervous system.
Cold water on your face or a cold shower.
Cold water activates the dive reflex, which stimulates the vagus nerve and slows the heart rate.
This is why splashing cold water on your face when you are overwhelmed is extremely effective or if you can brave it do a cold water plunge.
Humming, singing or gargling.
The vagus nerve passes through the vocal cords and the back of the throat.
Stimulating it this way sounds too simple to be significant but research has shown how this can instantly calm you down. If you have ever felt calmer after singing in the car, now you know why.
Slow movement.
Walking, particularly outside activates the vagus nerve through rhythmic movement and sensory input.
Even a slow stretch after a high pressure day begins to shift your state in a way that sitting still does not.
Genuine human connection.
The vagus nerve is activated by safe, personal connection. Eye contact, laughter, physical touch, real conversation with someone you trust.
This is one of the reasons isolation makes burnout worse.
Pick up the phone when you are feeling overwhelmed you will regulate in minutes.
This Week's Reflection Question
At the end of each day this week, ask yourself one question and write the answer down.
What has my body been trying to tell me that I have been too busy to listen to?
It's really important that we check in with our mind and body throughout the day.
Start by asking yourself what do I need right now?
You may need to take a break, to breathe, to stretch, to eat, to call someone or even just drink some water.
Listen This Week
Dr Chatterjee is one of the UK's most well known GPs and this is one of his most listened to episodes. In this episode he gives a breakdown of what burnout actually is, why high performers are the last to spot it in themselves and practical tools to start addressing it.
Work With Me
The Elevate Intensive - A focused 90-minute session to identify exactly where you are stuck and give you a clear path forward. As a newsletter subscriber claim £100 off with code RESILIENT100.
Elevate: The Roundtable - My 12 week group coaching programme for senior leaders and founders who are ready to change how you think, lead and make decisions. Over three months we will look at the mindset shift and leadership strategy needed to transform the way you show up. You'll do this with a group of peers who are exactly where you are and facing the same challenges. I'll talk more about this in next weeks edition
Until next Monday, have a great week.
Nicola.
P.S. If you know someone who needs to read this today - please pass it on.
