It’s More Than a Feeling: What your nervous system is really asking for — and why you need your daily dose

We all know some foods leave us heavy, others give us energy. Some meals make us want to move, others make us want to lie down. We don’t always get it right, but we know it matters. What we often forget is that the same is true for everything else we take in — light, noise, touch, motion, smell, information. Your nervous system eats too. And when it’s overwhelmed or underfed, it lets you know.

Everyone’s threshold is different. Some people crave stimulation. Others shut down from too much of it. But your system has limits. And when you ignore them, your body pays the price.

Flying is one of the clearest signals for me. It scrambles my balance system — specifically the vestibular system in the inner ear, which helps the brain track motion and orientation. When what you see and what your body feels don’t line up (like on a plane), your brain gets confused. If I fly while depleted, I get physically ill — nausea, disorientation, even vomiting. But when I’m rested, I cope fine.

Same flight. Different outcome.

What helped was the astronaut protocol — a set of exercises that retrain the vestibular system to handle motion better. But more than that, I learned to listen to my body instead of pushing through.

My youngest son taught me even more. At five, he already knew what he needed and called it his “daily dose.” He’d say, “I haven’t had my daily dose today.” For him, that meant uninterrupted time in front of a screen absorbing new information — not games, just learning. But he also had to move. He didn’t separate movement from thinking. He’d walk while learning, pace while processing, shift constantly while absorbing ideas. His brain worked better in motion. Without both — the movement and the input — he’d become unsettled.

It made me notice my own daily dose: novel information, meaningful connection, difficult work, and gymming — especially lifting heavy weights. My system doesn’t just like it. It needs it. Without those things, I slow down and lose clarity.

It's more than a feeling. The point isn’t to control every input. It’s to notice. To know what feeds you — and what drains you. Because what your nervous system needs is more than a feeling. It’s the foundation for who you are.