If digestion feels unpredictable—bloating one day, discomfort the next, reactions to foods that should be fine—it’s easy to assume the problem is the food. However, digestion doesn’t begin in the stomach. It begins in the nervous system. Digestion is a parasympathetic process. When the body feels safe, relaxed, and supported, digestive secretions flow, motility is coordinated, and nutrients are absorbed efficiently. When the nervous system is under stress—whether from inflammation, blood sugar instability, poor sleep, or ongoing emotional or relational strain—digestion downshifts in favor of survival. You can’t digest well while running from a lion.

Cortisol often gets labeled as a “stress hormone,” but in a healthy body, cortisol is not the enemy. It’s a guiding hormone. One that helps regulate energy, blood sugar, inflammation, blood pressure, and the sleep–wake cycle. When cortisol follows its natural daily rhythm, mornings feel alert, energy stays steady, and sleep becomes deep and restorative. When the rhythm is disrupted, the body can feel wired at the wrong times and tired when energy is needed. The good news is that cortisol rhythm responds quickly to daily habits—how you eat, sleep, move, manage stress, and expose yourself to light. Small, consistent changes can help bring this rhythm back into balance.

If falling asleep feels hard, or your body is exhausted but your mind won’t slow down, magnesium may be the missing link. Magnesium is involved in over 300 enzymatic reactions in the body, many of which directly affect the nervous system, stress hormones, and sleep chemistry. Yet it’s also one of the most commonly depleted minerals due to stress, inflammation, blood sugar imbalance, medications, and modern diets. When magnesium runs low, the nervous system struggles to downshift. Muscles stay tense. Thoughts keep looping. Cortisol lingers. And deep, restorative sleep becomes harder to access. The good news? Restoring magnesium, through food and supplementation, often brings noticeable changes quickly.