Psychoeducation for clients, families, and clinicians

Gut Health & Somatic Healing

How the gut, nervous system, sleep, and energy work together, and evidence-informed steps to explore with your care team.

By Dr. Darleen Claire Wodzenski, MS ESE, MA CMHC, PhD, LPC, NCC, ACS
Clinical Director, Orchard Human Services, Inc.

Section 1

The Gut, the Brain, and the Body Talk to Each Other

Why digestive health and nervous-system health are one conversation

The digestive tract has its own nervous system, called the enteric nervous system, a dense web of nerve cells that can run digestion largely on its own while staying in constant contact with the brain. Researchers describe this relationship as the microbiota–gut–brain axis: a two-way communication network that runs through the vagus nerve, stress hormones, the immune system, and chemical signals made by gut microbes (Cryan et al., 2019).

The vagus nerve is central to this conversation. Roughly 80% of its fibers carry information upward, from the gut and organs to the brain, which is one reason a churning stomach can feel like anxiety, and anxiety can feel like a churning stomach (Breit et al., 2018). Vagal activity also helps calm inflammation, linking a settled nervous system to a calmer gut (Breit et al., 2018).

A map of the gut–brain–body network

Where somatic healing fits

Somatic approaches work through the body: breath, posture, movement, sound, touch, and attention to sensation. When the nervous system is in a threat state, the body prioritizes survival over digestion, so stomach emptying, gut movement, secretions, and repair all shift. Stress can also loosen the seal between gut-lining cells, a change researchers measure as increased intestinal permeability (Camilleri, 2019). When the body shifts toward a rest-and-digest state, digestion and repair can resume. Every section of this page connects back to that shift: food, light, sleep, breath, and self-compassion are all ways of signaling safety to the body.

Informational only; not medical advice. Talk with your doctor and pharmacist before changing your diet, supplements, or medications. Emergency: call 911. Crisis: call or text 988.

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Section 2

Step One: The Power of a Whole-Foods Diet

The best-supported, lowest-risk change for the gut, mood, and energy

Not all processing is harmful. Washing, freezing, chopping, or canning vegetables changes very little. Researchers use the NOVA system to sort foods into four groups by how much they have been changed from their natural state (Monteiro et al., 2019):

What the research shows

In a tightly controlled inpatient trial at the National Institutes of Health, adults ate either an ultra-processed or a minimally processed diet for two weeks each, with meals matched for calories, sugar, fat, fiber, and other nutrients offered. On the ultra-processed diet, participants ate about 500 more calories a day and gained weight; on the minimally processed diet, they lost weight (Hall et al., 2019). Because this was a randomized trial, it shows that processing itself changes how much people eat.

A large umbrella review that pooled meta-analyses covering millions of people linked higher ultra-processed food intake with 32 adverse health outcomes, including higher risk of death from any cause, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, anxiety, and depression. The strength of the evidence varied across outcomes (Lane et al., 2024).

Why this matters for the gut

Common food emulsifiers, which keep packaged foods smooth and shelf-stable, thinned the protective mucus layer of the gut, shifted the microbiome, and promoted low-grade inflammation in mice (Chassaing et al., 2015). In a randomized controlled feeding study in healthy adults, the emulsifier carboxymethylcellulose altered the gut microbiome and reduced beneficial microbial metabolites, and in some participants, bacteria moved closer to the gut lining (Chassaing et al., 2022). These findings connect directly to the gut-barrier section below.

Why this matters for mood

In the SMILES trial, adults with major depression who received support to shift toward a whole-foods, Mediterranean-style diet improved significantly more than those receiving social support alone (Jacka et al., 2017). For more on food and mental health, visit our Nutrition for Mental Health page.

Informational only; not medical advice. Talk with your doctor and pharmacist before changing your diet, supplements, or medications. Emergency: call 911. Crisis: call or text 988.

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Section 3

Feeding Your Inner Garden: 30 Plants a Week and Probiotics

Variety feeds a diverse microbial community

The 30-plants goal

The gut is home to a vast community of microorganisms, and different microbes thrive on different plant fibers and plant compounds. In the American Gut Project, one of the largest citizen-science microbiome studies, people who ate more than 30 different types of plants per week had more diverse gut microbiomes than people who ate 10 or fewer (McDonald et al., 2018). This finding is associational, meaning it shows a link rather than proof of cause, but plant variety is a low-risk, high-reward habit.

Probiotics: the strain matters

A probiotic’s effects depend on its exact strain, not just its genus and species name. A large systematic review found that benefits were specific to both the strain and the health condition studied, so results for one product cannot be assumed for another (McFarland et al., 2018). Look for the full name on the label: genus, species, and strain code.

Informational only; not medical advice. Talk with your doctor and pharmacist before changing your diet, supplements, or medications. Emergency: call 911. Crisis: call or text 988.

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Section 4

Food Allergy, Intolerance, and Histamine Reactions

Recognizing the signals your body may be sending

Many foods can trigger symptoms, and the reactions are not always where people expect them. Some people have lived with these symptoms for so long that they do not know what a settled body feels like. Learning the three main types of food reactions is the first step in recognizing patterns.

Food allergy involves the immune system and can escalate quickly, while intolerances arise from digestion and usually depend on dose (Sicherer & Sampson, 2018). Itching or tingling in the mouth after eating raw fruits or vegetables is often pollen-food allergy syndrome (also called oral allergy syndrome), a cross-reaction between pollen proteins and similar proteins in fresh produce (Sicherer & Sampson, 2018). Histamine reactions occur when histamine from food builds up faster than the body can clear it, often linked to lower activity of the enzyme diamine oxidase (DAO). Symptoms can include flushing, headache, nasal congestion, heart racing, hives, and digestive upset (Maintz & Novak, 2007).

Celiac disease is different from all three: it is an autoimmune condition triggered by gluten. Testing must be done while gluten is still in the diet, so talk with your doctor before removing gluten (Lebwohl & Rubio-Tapia, 2021).

Symptoms by body system

Learning what a settled body feels like

Because so many foods can contribute to these symptoms, many people never connect how they feel to what they eat. Gently removing likely aggravating foods for a period, with guidance, can let a person experience, sometimes for the first time in years, what it feels like to live in a calm, settled body. The next section explains how to do that safely and step by step.

Informational only; not medical advice. Talk with your doctor and pharmacist before changing your diet, supplements, or medications. Emergency: call 911. Crisis: call or text 988.

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Section 5

Histamine, Oxalates, Lectins, FODMAPs, and Fermented Foods

Common aggravants, what the evidence says, and a safe path to find your own triggers

Fermented foods: pause, heal, and reintroduce

Fermented foods such as yogurt, kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut, and kombucha can be powerful allies. In a randomized study, adults who ate a high-fermented-food diet for 10 weeks increased their gut microbiome diversity and lowered multiple inflammatory markers (Wastyk et al., 2021).

But fermented foods are also high in histamine (Maintz & Novak, 2007), and for a gut that is inflamed or reactive, they may aggravate symptoms at first. A reasonable approach, discussed with a provider, is to pause fermented foods during a healing period, then reintroduce them one at a time in small amounts, tracking the response for 24 to 72 hours using the reintroduction box in the Food & Vitality Log. If tolerated, they can return as a regular part of the diet.

A safe, stepwise path to finding your triggers

Removing many food groups at once can shrink the diet so much that it creates nutritional gaps, works against the 30-plants goal, and raises the risk of disordered eating. A stepwise approach delivers the same benefit, a chance to feel what a settled body is like, with far less risk.

Informational only; not medical advice. Talk with your doctor and pharmacist before changing your diet, supplements, or medications. Emergency: call 911. Crisis: call or text 988.

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Section 6

Gluten and Dairy: What to Know Before You Cut Them Out

Sorting out what actually causes symptoms, and choosing replacements wisely

Gluten: who truly needs to avoid it

Gluten is the main protein in wheat, barley, and rye. For people with celiac disease, gluten triggers an autoimmune reaction that damages the small intestine, and strict lifelong avoidance is essential (Lebwohl & Rubio-Tapia, 2021). Testing for celiac disease must be done while gluten is still being eaten, so talk with your doctor before removing it.

Many more people feel better when they cut back on wheat but do not have celiac disease. Research suggests that for many of them, gluten is not the main culprit:

Try true sourdough before giving up all bread

Traditional sourdough is made by slow fermentation with wild yeasts and lactic acid bacteria rather than fast-acting commercial yeast. That long fermentation breaks down much of the wheat’s fructans: in one study, conventional sourdough fermentation reduced bread fructans by 65% to 70%, compared with less than 50% for standard yeasted dough, and selected sourdough cultures reduced them by more than 90% (Li et al., 2020). For people whose symptoms come from fructans rather than gluten, a genuine, slow-fermented sourdough may be well tolerated, so it is worth a careful, logged trial before eliminating all bread products.

The hidden problems with gluten-free replacements

Gluten gives bread its stretch and structure, so gluten-free breads, cookies, and cakes rely on other ingredients to imitate it, usually plant gums and thickeners such as xanthan gum, guar gum, psyllium, and modified cellulose. In some products, an enzyme called microbial transglutaminase is used to bind proteins together. Researchers have raised concerns that this food-processing enzyme functionally imitates tissue transglutaminase, the enzyme at the center of celiac disease, and that the cross-linked protein complexes it creates may be immunogenic and may increase intestinal permeability (Lerner & Matthias, 2020). This concern is still debated and largely based on laboratory evidence, but it is a reason for caution, especially for people with celiac disease or gut inflammation.

Packaged gluten-free products also tend to be heavily processed. A database study found that they were often lower in protein, rarely high in fiber, much more expensive, and offered no nutritional advantage over their gluten-containing counterparts (Missbach et al., 2015). Many fall into the ultra-processed category described in Step One.

Alternative flours can bring their own reactions

Track any new flour in the Food & Vitality Log the same way you would reintroduce a food: one at a time, with attention to histamine-type, allergic, digestive, and blood-sugar responses.

Cauliflower breads and crusts: read the label, then check your own response

Cauliflower itself is a low-carbohydrate, low-glycemic vegetable, so it is often promoted as a blood-sugar-friendly flour substitute. In practice, many cauliflower breads, crusts, and flour blends are combined with rice flour, tapioca, potato starch, or cornstarch to hold them together, and those starches can raise blood sugar quickly. Glucose responses to the same food also differ widely from person to person (Zeevi et al., 2015), and some people notice a larger rise or a crash after cauliflower-based products. If blood-sugar stability is part of your health strategy, do not assume a cauliflower product is a safe swap: read the ingredient list, and test your own response using the Food & Vitality Log or a glucose monitor if you use one.

Dairy: intolerance, allergy, and options

Dairy causes trouble in two different ways. Lactose intolerance is a digestive problem: many adults make less of the enzyme lactase, so milk sugar ferments in the gut and causes bloating, cramping, and diarrhea. Lactose malabsorption is common worldwide, and people with IBS or anxiety are more likely to feel symptoms from it (Misselwitz et al., 2019). Milk allergy is an immune reaction to milk proteins (casein or whey) and can be serious; it requires strict avoidance and medical guidance (Sicherer & Sampson, 2018).

Informational only; not medical advice. Talk with your doctor and pharmacist before changing your diet, supplements, or medications. Emergency: call 911. Crisis: call or text 988.

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Section 7

Choosing a Safe, High-Quality Olive Oil

Why extra virgin and single source matter for your health

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is one of the best-studied foods in nutrition science. In the PREDIMED trial, adults at high cardiovascular risk who followed a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra virgin olive oil had about 30% fewer major cardiovascular events, such as heart attack and stroke, than those advised to follow a reduced-fat diet (Estruch et al., 2018). Its benefits come not only from its monounsaturated fat but from natural plant compounds called polyphenols, which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects and appear to support a healthier gut microbiome and gut barrier (Millman et al., 2021).

One of these polyphenols, oleocanthal, is responsible for the peppery sting at the back of the throat from fresh, high-quality EVOO. It inhibits the same inflammatory enzymes (cyclooxygenases) as ibuprofen, although the amount in a normal serving is far smaller than a dose of the medication (Beauchamp et al., 2005). That throat-catching bite is a sign of a polyphenol-rich oil.

Why extra virgin is the better choice

Why choose a single-source olive oil

Extra virgin olive oil is one of the most frequently counterfeited foods in the world. Documented fraud includes diluting EVOO with cheaper vegetable oils, selling lower grades as extra virgin, and mislabeling where the oil came from. Adulterated oils have poorer nutritional quality, oxidize more readily, and may contain unhealthy compounds formed during refining (Lozano-Castellón et al., 2022).

Large commercial bottles are often blends of oils from several countries and harvests, sometimes labeled only “packed in” or “bottled in” one country. Officially recognized testing methods cannot always trace the true geographic and botanical origin of such blends (Maestrello et al., 2022). A single-source oil, from one country, region, or ideally one estate or producer, with the harvest date on the label, has a shorter, more transparent supply chain. That makes it easier to verify, more accountable to its producer, and more likely to be fresh. Single source is not a guarantee of quality on its own, but combined with the other signs below, it greatly improves your odds.

Informational only; not medical advice. Talk with your doctor and pharmacist before changing your diet, supplements, or medications. Emergency: call 911. Crisis: call or text 988.

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Section 8

Healthy Fats for a Healthy Gut

How the fats you choose can calm or inflame the gut

Fat is essential. It builds every cell membrane, makes up much of the brain, carries the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K into the body, and slows the absorption of carbohydrates, which helps steady blood sugar. The type and amount of fat you eat also shape the gut microbiome and the body’s inflammatory tone. High-quality, healthy fats support the body’s healing and can help calm inflammation, while damaged and highly processed fats can add to it.

Two pathways

Fats that support gut health

Fats that can promote inflammation

Informational only; not medical advice. Talk with your doctor and pharmacist before changing your diet, supplements, or medications. Emergency: call 911. Crisis: call or text 988.

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Section 9

Your Food & Vitality Log

A simple tool to see patterns you and your care team can act on

Symptoms from food, sleep, and stress often show up hours after the cause, which makes patterns hard to spot from memory. A written log turns vague impressions into information that you, your doctor, your dietitian, and your counselor can review together. Because glucose responses and food tolerance vary widely from person to person (Zeevi et al., 2015), your own log is more useful than any generic food list.

What the log includes

How to use it

1. Fill in meals soon after eating, and note symptoms as they happen.
2. Track for 1 to 2 weeks to start. Save a new copy of the file each week.
3. Look for timing patterns, not single bad days.
4. Bring the log to your appointments. Your providers help interpret it with you.

Informational only; not medical advice. Talk with your doctor and pharmacist before changing your diet, supplements, or medications. Emergency: call 911. Crisis: call or text 988.

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Section 10

Healing the Gut Lining: Tight Junctions and Glutamine

Supporting the seal between the gut and the rest of the body

The gut lining is a single layer of cells joined by protein seals called tight junctions. These seals decide what passes from the gut into the bloodstream. When they loosen, more material can cross the barrier, a measurable change called increased intestinal permeability. Increased permeability is a real, measurable finding in conditions such as celiac disease and inflammatory bowel disease, and it can rise with stress. However, “leaky gut syndrome” is not an established medical diagnosis, and researchers caution that permeability is not yet proven to cause most of the conditions attributed to it (Camilleri, 2019).

Glutamine

Glutamine is an amino acid and a primary fuel for the cells lining the gut. Cell and animal studies show that it supports tight-junction proteins and helps regulate inflammation. In the strongest human study to date, a randomized placebo-controlled trial in adults whose IBS with diarrhea began after a gut infection and who had increased intestinal permeability, glutamine supplementation for eight weeks significantly reduced IBS symptoms and normalized permeability compared with placebo (Zhou et al., 2019). Evidence in broader groups is limited and mixed.

Everyday barrier support

• Fiber from a wide variety of plants, which gut microbes turn into compounds that nourish the lining
• Fewer ultra-processed foods and emulsifiers (Chassaing et al., 2022)
• Enough sleep and regular nervous-system calming, since stress can increase permeability (Camilleri, 2019)
• Adequate vitamin D, which helps maintain the gut barrier (Fletcher et al., 2019)

Informational only; not medical advice. Talk with your doctor and pharmacist before changing your diet, supplements, or medications. Emergency: call 911. Crisis: call or text 988.

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Section 11

Energy, Vitality, and Your Mitochondria

How chronic gut distress can drain the body’s power plants

Mitochondria are tiny structures inside nearly every cell that turn food and oxygen into ATP, the energy currency that powers muscles, nerves, the brain, and healing. The diagram below shows their key parts: an outer membrane, a folded inner membrane (the cristae) where the energy-producing machinery sits, ATP synthase enzymes that make ATP, and their own small circle of DNA.

How gut distress can lower energy

Mitochondrial dysfunction in the cells lining the gut is well documented in inflammatory bowel disease, where damaged mitochondria and inflammation appear to drive each other (Novak & Mollen, 2015). The evidence in IBS is thinner. Body-wide, chronic diarrhea and malabsorption can deplete nutrients that mitochondria need, including iron, vitamin B12, magnesium, and vitamin D. Fatigue is common with chronic digestive conditions and usually has several causes at once. Think of the pathway below as a set of plausible, connected drains rather than a single proven cause.

Where support can help along the pathway

Red light, near-infrared light, and photobiomodulation

Red and near-infrared light, used at low power, is called photobiomodulation. The light is absorbed mainly by cytochrome c oxidase, an enzyme in the mitochondrial energy chain, which can increase ATP production and influence oxidative stress and inflammation (Hamblin, 2017). The mechanism is well described, and the strongest clinical evidence is in areas outside the gut, such as preventing mouth sores during cancer treatment. Gut-specific research is early: in mice, light applied to the abdomen shifted the gut microbiome, and human studies so far are small pilots (Bicknell et al., 2019).

Sunlight, the original full-spectrum light, is covered in its own section below.

Informational only; not medical advice. Talk with your doctor and pharmacist before changing your diet, supplements, or medications. Emergency: call 911. Crisis: call or text 988.

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Section 12

Vitamin B12, Intrinsic Factor, and Pernicious Anemia

When a struggling gut cannot absorb a vital nutrient

Vitamin B12 is essential for making red blood cells, protecting nerves, and supporting brain function. Absorbing it is a multistep process: stomach acid releases B12 from food, a protein made by the stomach called intrinsic factor binds it, and the pair is absorbed at the end of the small intestine (the ileum). A break at any step can lead to deficiency (Stabler, 2013).

Gut conditions that impair B12 absorption

How B12 is replaced when the gut cannot absorb it

Because a compromised gut may absorb little B12 from food or standard supplements, injections are the traditional treatment for pernicious anemia. Clinical guidelines recommend intramuscular B12 for pernicious anemia, with more frequent dosing when nerve symptoms are present (Devalia et al., 2014). The Pernicious Anaemia Society, a patient-advocacy organization, also advocates injection-based treatment. Subcutaneous injection is used as well.

A small portion of a high oral dose, roughly 1%, is absorbed by passive diffusion, which does not require intrinsic factor. A Cochrane review found that high-dose oral B12 raised blood levels about as well as intramuscular injections over the short term, but the evidence was low quality (Wang et al., 2018). The route of treatment is a decision for your physician, and injections are generally preferred when absorption is severely impaired or nerve symptoms are present.

Informational only; not medical advice. Talk with your doctor and pharmacist before changing your diet, supplements, or medications. Emergency: call 911. Crisis: call or text 988.

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Section 13

Sunlight and Vitamin D

Light for your rhythms, your bones, your immune system, and your gut

Sunlight does two different jobs. Light entering the eyes sets the body’s circadian clock (covered in the sleep section). Ultraviolet B light on the skin makes vitamin D, which supports bones, muscles, immune function, and the gut barrier.

Signs of vitamin D deficiency

Deficiency is common and often causes no obvious symptoms. When symptoms do appear, they can include fatigue, bone pain or tenderness, muscle weakness or aches, and frequent infections; low vitamin D has also been associated with low mood (Holick, 2007). The only way to know your level is a 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] blood test ordered by your provider (Holick, 2007).

The gut connection

Vitamin D is fat-soluble, so fat malabsorption and chronic diarrhea can reduce how much is absorbed from food and standard supplements. Low vitamin D is common in inflammatory bowel disease, and the vitamin D receptor helps maintain the tight junctions of the gut lining and regulate gut immunity (Fletcher et al., 2019).

Calcifediol: a faster-acting form to ask about

Calcifediol (25-hydroxyvitamin D3) is the form of vitamin D the liver normally makes from standard vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Because it skips that liver step and is more water-soluble, calcifediol raises blood levels faster and more predictably, is roughly two to three times more potent per microgram, and is absorbed better in people with fat malabsorption (Quesada-Gomez & Bouillon, 2018). A randomized trial in postmenopausal women with vitamin D deficiency found calcifediol raised blood levels faster and more effectively than cholecalciferol (Pérez-Castrillón et al., 2021).

Informational only; not medical advice. Talk with your doctor and pharmacist before changing your diet, supplements, or medications. Emergency: call 911. Crisis: call or text 988.

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Section 14

Blood Sugar, Night Lows, and Sleep

Steady glucose for steady energy, mood, and rest

How low blood sugar at night disrupts sleep

When blood sugar drops during the night, the body releases adrenaline, cortisol, and glucagon to bring it back up. That emergency response can jolt a person awake, often between about 2 and 4 AM, with a racing heart, sweating, vivid dreams or nightmares, anxiety, or trouble falling back asleep, and sometimes a morning headache or a hungover feeling (Seaquist et al., 2013). Nighttime lows are best documented in people with diabetes. They are less studied in people without diabetes, but some people do experience them and should be evaluated by a provider.

Diet patterns matter for sleep more broadly. In a large study of postmenopausal women, diets with a higher glycemic index, meaning more rapidly digested refined carbohydrates, were associated with higher odds of developing insomnia (Gangwisch et al., 2020).

A protective bedtime snack

For people prone to nighttime lows, a small bedtime snack built around high-quality protein and healthy fat, with a modest serving of complex carbohydrate, can release fuel slowly through the night and help protect sleep. Keep it small; a large meal within 2 to 3 hours of bed can worsen reflux.

Daytime habits for steady glucose

• Eat in order: eating vegetables and protein before carbohydrates lowered the after-meal rise in glucose and insulin (Shukla et al., 2015).
• Walk after meals: light walking after eating blunts glucose spikes more than sitting (Buffey et al., 2022).
• Fiber and variety: the 30-plants goal supports steadier glucose.
• Personal responses: people’s glucose responses to the same food vary widely, partly because of differences in their gut microbiome (Zeevi et al., 2015). Your food log reveals your own patterns.

Informational only; not medical advice. Talk with your doctor and pharmacist before changing your diet, supplements, or medications. Emergency: call 911. Crisis: call or text 988.

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Section 15

The Healing Power of Sleep

Why sleep is when the body repairs, clears, and resets

Sleep is not simply rest; it is one of the body’s most active repair periods.

The sleep–gut loop

In women with IBS, poorer sleep predicted worse abdominal pain, anxiety, and fatigue the next day (Buchanan et al., 2014). Many people also find that digestive discomfort makes sleep harder, which can keep the cycle going. Improving sleep is one of the most effective ways to interrupt the loop.

Informational only; not medical advice. Talk with your doctor and pharmacist before changing your diet, supplements, or medications. Emergency: call 911. Crisis: call or text 988.

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Section 16

Your Sleep Toolkit: Light, Temperature, Rhythm, and Nutrition

Evidence-informed habits that protect deep, restorative sleep

Evening light: dim and warm

Light in the evening tells the brain it is still daytime and suppresses melatonin. An international expert consensus recommends keeping evening light dim for at least 3 hours before bedtime and keeping the bedroom as dark as possible during sleep, while getting plenty of bright light during the day (Brown et al., 2022). The timing is tied to your own bedtime rather than a set clock time; for a 10 PM bedtime, that means dimming lights by about 7 PM.

• Use low, warm-yellow lamps in the evening instead of bright overhead lights.
• Turn off screens 1 to 2 hours before bed. Screens add both light and mental stimulation; scrolling, messages, and news keep the nervous system alert.
• Blue-light-blocking glasses have mixed evidence. A Cochrane review found little clear benefit for sleep (Singh et al., 2023), so overall dimness matters more than filtering one color.

A cool bedroom and a warm bath

The body’s core temperature naturally drops as sleep begins, and a room that is too warm interferes with deep sleep (Okamoto-Mizuno & Mizuno, 2012). A comfortable, slightly cool bedroom, often cited as about 60 to 67°F, supports this drop. A warm bath or shower 1 to 2 hours before bed can help you fall asleep faster by drawing heat to the skin, which then helps the core cool (Haghayegh et al., 2019).

Anchor your circadian rhythm

• Wake at the same time every day, including weekends. A consistent wake time is the anchor that the rest of the body clock sets from.
• Get outdoor light in the morning, ideally within about an hour of waking. The body clock is set through the eyes, by light-sensitive cells in the retina, so be outside with your eyes uncovered, but never look directly at the sun. Aim for roughly 10 to 30 minutes, and longer on cloudy days. Even overcast daylight is far brighter than indoor lighting (Brown et al., 2022).
• Skin exposure is a separate benefit: sunlight on the skin is for vitamin D, not for setting the clock. See the vitamin D section for sun-safety guidance.

Nutrition, amino acids, and minerals for sleep

Steady blood sugar, a whole-foods diet, and adequate minerals all support sleep. For more on how nutrients affect the brain, visit our Nutrition for Mental Health page. Several natural substances have been studied for sleep. They are examples to discuss with your providers, not recommendations to start on your own.

Informational only; not medical advice. Talk with your doctor and pharmacist before changing your diet, supplements, or medications. Emergency: call 911. Crisis: call or text 988.

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Section 17

Nasal Breathing, Humming, and Nitric Oxide

Simple practices that support airways, oxygen, and a calm nervous system

Nitric oxide is a signaling molecule that relaxes blood vessels, helps defend the airways against microbes, and supports healthy blood flow. The sinuses produce large amounts of nitric oxide, and breathing in through the nose carries it down into the lungs. In a human study, inhaling this nasally produced nitric oxide improved how efficiently the lungs took up oxygen (Lundberg et al., 1996).

Humming dramatically increases the nitric oxide released from the sinuses: in one study, nasal nitric oxide rose about 15-fold during humming compared with quiet exhaling, because the vibration moves air between the sinuses and the nasal passages (Weitzberg & Lundberg, 2002). Chanting and toning work on the same principle. These benefits act mainly in the airways and lungs.

Slow breathing and the nervous system

Slow, paced breathing, around 6 breaths per minute, is associated with increased heart rate variability, greater relaxation, and reduced anxiety, reflecting stronger vagal, rest-and-digest activity (Zaccaro et al., 2018). Long, humming exhales combine both effects: more nasal nitric oxide and a slower, calmer breath.

Feed your nitric oxide from the inside, too

Leafy greens and beets are rich in dietary nitrate, which bacteria on the tongue convert into nitrite and then nitric oxide. In healthy volunteers, using an antiseptic mouthwash for a week reduced this conversion and raised blood pressure (Kapil et al., 2013). Caring for the oral microbiome is part of caring for the gut microbiome; ask your dentist whether daily antiseptic mouthwash is necessary for you.

Informational only; not medical advice. Talk with your doctor and pharmacist before changing your diet, supplements, or medications. Emergency: call 911. Crisis: call or text 988.

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Section 18

Self-Compassion and Compassion for Others

Kindness as a health practice for body and mind

Self-compassion means treating yourself with the same kindness, understanding, and patience you would offer someone you love, especially during difficulty. It is not self-indulgence or lowering standards; it is a steadier foundation for change.

What the research shows

• A meta-analysis found that self-compassion is consistently and substantially associated with greater psychological well-being (Zessin et al., 2015).
• An analysis pooling 15 samples found that self-compassion is linked to more health-promoting behaviors, such as better eating, exercise, sleep, and stress management, partly through more positive and less negative emotion (Sirois et al., 2015).
• In an experimental study, a brief self-compassion exercise lowered heart rate and increased heart rate variability, a marker of vagal, rest-and-digest activity, while self-critical rumination did the opposite (Kirschner et al., 2019).
• Self-compassion is associated with healthier body image and lower disordered-eating risk, which makes it an important companion to any food or tracking work (Braun et al., 2016).

Compassion for others

Strong social connections are associated with significantly better survival; a large meta-analysis found that people with stronger social relationships had about 50% greater likelihood of survival over the study periods (Holt-Lunstad et al., 2010). In a randomized study, practicing loving-kindness meditation increased positive emotions and social connection, and these gains were linked to improvements in vagal tone (Kok et al., 2013).

How kindness connects to the gut

A harsh inner critic is a form of chronic threat. It keeps the stress response switched on, which affects digestion, gut movement, and the gut barrier. Self-compassion helps turn that alarm down. It also changes how healing work feels: the food log, reintroduction trials, and new habits become acts of curiosity and care rather than tests you can fail.

Informational only; not medical advice. Talk with your doctor and pharmacist before changing your diet, supplements, or medications. Emergency: call 911. Crisis: call or text 988.

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Section 19

For Clinicians, Interns, and Therapists

Scope, screening, referral, and scripts for sharing this material well

This section supports counselors, interns, and therapists in sharing this material efficiently and within scope. Tap each heading to expand it.

Informational only; not medical advice. Talk with your doctor and pharmacist before changing your diet, supplements, or medications. Emergency: call 911. Crisis: call or text 988.

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Section 20

Important Information and Disclaimer

Please read before using any information on this page

• Informational and educational only. This page is for general education. It is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
• Bring this information to your medical providers. Talk with your physician, gastroenterologist, registered dietitian, pharmacist, or other qualified health professional for guidance before changing your diet, supplements, medications, light exposure, or exercise.
• Check every supplement for interactions. Natural substances can interact with medications and medical conditions. Review everything you take with your doctor and pharmacist.
• Not a substitute for care. This information does not replace medical or mental health treatment, and reading it does not create a counseling or therapeutic relationship with Orchard Human Services, Inc. or any of its clinicians.
• Scope. Counselors and interns provide psychoeducation and somatic regulation skills. They do not diagnose or treat medical, gastrointestinal, or nutritional conditions.
• Research changes. The research summarized here reflects published studies at the time of writing. Some findings come from animal or small human studies and are labeled as emerging.
• Seek medical care promptly for blood in the stool, unexplained weight loss, persistent vomiting, severe abdominal pain, trouble swallowing, chest pain, fainting, or new or persistent heart racing.
• Emergencies: call 911 for any trouble breathing, throat or tongue swelling, or other emergency. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Informational only; not medical advice. Talk with your doctor and pharmacist before changing your diet, supplements, or medications. Emergency: call 911. Crisis: call or text 988.

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