You’re Not Lazy, You’re Fried: March and Your Nervous System
Spring is coming, inform your nervous system
March in New England is so unhinged just as the rest of 2026 has been so far. One day it’s spring, the next day it’s a snow globe. If you’re feeling spring calling you, you are not alone. We are all ready for it.
Spring and summer are high energy, big output, big energy months. Your nervous system needs to be ready to go with the flow. So, if you’ve been thinking, “I’m ready for spring, summer will be better”…This one is for you.
Your body actually has seasons
You know I love woo but this isn’t woo woo. It’s real. Your immune system, hormones, even the activity of thousands of genes shift with the seasons. As light changes, your circadian rhythm - cortisol, melatonin, and immune signaling change with it. In winter everything slows down, in spring everything revs up. This is what makes spring an optimal time to reset your system, or implement those new years resolutions you had in January. The momentum of nature is on your side.
March is the “loading season” between winter shut-in mode and spring go-mode. Friday March 20, 2026 is the first day of spring (this is the day after my surgery for those of you that got that I work with). The beginning of the month is a great time to get organized, sorted and ready for the action of spring and summer. Let’s gather your bandwidth.
Think: inbox spring cleaning, it’s time to empty your metaphorical and literal junk folders.
Chronic stress is not a personality trait
And it’s not a virtue. Stress makes it hard for you to access your intuition, your mental clarity, sleep, and has negative physical consequences. This is the part I care about as a doctor and as your unofficial chaos buddy.
Chronic stress rewires how your body manages blood sugar, sleep, digestion, hormones, and immune function. This is on purpose for survival but over time, it does not support you. And has negative impacts on these functions. You may not “feel stressed”; but your body starts running a different operating system. A broken one. This is why you’re always stressed/tired/overwhelmed/want to burn it all down.
Cortisol (stress hormones) go up a lot and says there —> blood sugar becomes more volatile —> sleep is lighter and fragmented —> gut motility and microbiome shift
The end result: you feel like garbage.
Large reviews of randomized trials show that lifestyle changes alone—movement, food shifts, sleep, and basic stress practices—can significantly reduce anxiety, depression, and stress scores. So no, you’re not weak, you don’t need to power through. You’ve been trained that burnout and over stress is a virtue. It’s not.
What actually helps when you’re spiraling?
What helps are: Interventions that don’t require moving to a cabin by the sea or becoming Instagram “wellness purist.” The most helpful things are foundational, simple, free or cheap, and fold into the life you already have:
1. Tiny lifestyle tweaks that actually move the needle
A 2024 meta-analysis looked at 96 randomized trials and found lifestyle interventions had real, measurable effects on stress and mood.pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih+1 That included basics: exercise, food changes, and sleep strategies.
Key patterns that kept showing up:
Regular movement lowered stress and anxiety - regular meaning daily and throughout the day.
Better sleep hygiene improved mood and stress.
Food patterns that stabilized blood sugar lowered mental health symptoms. This is regular meals, nutrient dense, full of color.
Translation: You don’t need a 90‑minute morning routine. You need a few moves you’ll actually do.
Examples: Walking 20–30 minutes most days can meaningfully reduce stress and anxiety symptoms. Not Peloton Olympics. Just walking the dog like you mean it.
Eating 3 meals daily that are full of fiber and protein will help keep your blood sugar steady. Try to avoid snacking by eating enough to last you 3-4 hours between meals.
2. Your gut is invited to the stress party
Your gut and brain talk all day long. We call it the gut–brain axis; your microbiome (the bugs in your digestive tract) can change how you respond to stress. This is crazy to think about. Because this means small, favorable shifts in the microbiome have big impacts on the brain and mood.
There’s emerging research on fermented foods like kefir acting as “functional” stress support, improving stress resilience and even PTSD‑related symptoms in experimental models. Listen up: We are not about trying to handle March on Goldfish crackers and iced coffee.
We’re still early, but the direction is consistent: what bugs are in your gut and what you feed them changes how you respond to stress.
Simple gut‑friendly moves for March that don’t require a Pinterest pantry:
One fermented food most days (kefir, yogurt with live cultures, sauerkraut, kimchi).
Real fiber: veggies, beans, chia,—your gut bugs eat that, not protein bars
Again: this is not about a perfection. It’s about consistency over time.
3. Herbs that are actually studied, not just trending
Adaptogens get thrown around like glitter, but some of them do have evidence. A 2023 meta‑analysis found that Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha and if you work with me you know I love this one) significantly lowered cortisol and improved perceived stress scores in stressed adults over about 8–9 weeks. BUT dose matters. Work with someone who knows what they are doing to get the right dose for you.
Important details:
It’s studied as part of a larger lifestyle picture,
Dosing, quality, and your individual health picture matter. Thyroid issues, meds, pregnancy, all need a real conversation with a qualified professional (not someone you see on IG).
Same goes for other botanicals we use in naturopathic medicine. They’re tools, not personality upgrades.
Why this is the month to stop pretending you’re fine
March is sneaky. Feels like it should be spring but we still have some wintery weather and the light isn’t all the way back yet. This is why it’s “loading season”, it’s the prep month for spring and summer. The holidays are over. Many of us are still recovering from the holidays or the darkness. This is when we plan, prepare, say no, regroup.
From an integrative medicine perspective, people are burnt out earlier and earlier in the year, and they’re turning to more holistic care because band‑aids aren’t cutting it. They want someone to look at hormones, nervous system, gut, sleep, and actual life demands in the same appointment.
If you’re reading this and thinking, “Yeah, that’s me, but I’ll deal with it when things calm down,” please hear this: “Later” is not a stress strategy. It’s how burnout wins. I think you deserve better than that.
What I’d tell you if you were my patient and also my friend
If you were sitting in my office in your “I’m fine, it’s just busy” outfit, here’s what I’d be thinking about for March:
How is your nervous system actually doing? Are we talking mild stress, or alarms blaring?
Sleep: how long, how broken, how wired‑and‑tired?
Gut: bloating, IBS, reflux, “mystery” nausea when stressed?
Hormones: cycles, hot flashes, PMS that makes you want to move to Mars?
Labs and, if needed, hormone or cortisol rhythm testing to see what your stress physiology is doing, combined with what you feel.
Then we’d build something boring‑and‑effective:
Basic lifestyle shifts that match your actual life. Small tweaks you can implement without going broke or creating more burnout.
Food upgrades that your nervous system and gut will actually notice.
Targeted supplements or herbs where evidence and your labs say they’ll help.
Not a life makeover. More like: fewer internal browser tabs open at once.
If your brain is spiraling right now
You are not dramatic. You’re a human running a winter body in a spring‑ish world with long to‑do lists and a tired nervous system.
Your system is not broken. It’s overloaded.
If you want help sorting out stress, hormones, and gut stuff in a way that’s science‑based and also deeply realistic, that’s literally my job.March is a great month to recalibrate before the year really takes off. Summer brings big energy and big fun. You want to be ready.
You don’t need to become a different person. You just need your body and your life to be on the same team.
Remember: Everything is always working out for you, Stay wild, be consistent, be intentional. Until next time,
Dr. Waite