Fix Your Nervous System First (Or Nothing Else Works)

I am a Board Certified Holistic Nutritionist and a holistic health practitioner, and my idea of health is simple:

Fix your nervous system first.

It is the foundation.

And when you work on that foundation, a large part of what happens downstream can improve.

I am also a course creator. I create foundational and simple health and fitness courses.

My latest course, the EMPOWER Health Pyramid, is free to enroll in for a limited time.

It is a simple yet powerful course consisting of 7–10 engaging videos, each just a few minutes long. The videos explain the EMPOWER Health Pyramid, with a particular focus on the foundation.

If you look at the root of the pyramid, the base level, the root chakra, the Muladhara level it is your nervous system.

This means if your sleep, stress levels, breathing patterns, and other foundational factors are not managed, no matter how healthy you eat or how often you work out, you will struggle to achieve optimal health.

I’ll say this again:

If your sleep, stress levels, and breathing patterns are not managed properly, no matter how healthy you eat or how regularly you go to the gym, you cannot be truly healthy.

Most people today are in suboptimal health.

They are not truly healthy.

They may be fit or strong, but that does not necessarily mean they are truly healthy.

And you know what?

It is possible to build better health without constantly spending more money on things that may have little impact on your overall health.

People are already spending considerable resources on supplements, products, programs, and other solutions.

As a holistic educator, I feel a mindset shift is required.

On this channel, I will try to teach you to focus on the right things.

I will teach you not to waste money on worthless supplements.

I will teach you not to blindly listen to coaches and experts who don’t know what they are talking about.

Essentially, I want to teach you to become your own health coach.

Alright, I’ll stop my ranting.

Let’s circle back to the nervous system reset.

The most powerful lever that resets your nervous system is sleep.

And preparing for a good night’s sleep starts much earlier than bedtime.

It starts around 3 PM.

You see, there are two moments in your day that I call “hinge points.”

Hinge Point No. 1: Your Morning Alarm

The first hinge point occurs with your morning alarm.

As I always say:

If you snooze, you lose.

How you begin your morning can influence the rest of your day.

Hinge Point No. 2: 3–5 PM

The second hinge point that can strongly influence the overall quality of your day happens between 3 and 5 PM.

How clearly you plan the rest of your day can influence how you sleep and your overall health.

It’s interesting, so listen carefully.

If you drink caffeine after 3 PM, it can interfere with your sleep.

Caffeine has a relatively long half-life, meaning a significant amount can remain in your system for hours.

That is why your afternoon coffee may still be affecting your ability to wind down at night.

So one of the simplest rules on your “sadhu days” is:

No caffeine after 3 PM.

Plan Your Evening Before It Begins

The second important point is the plan you make for your evening.

If there is a night out with friends  which I fully support!

The goal is not to live a life where you never enjoy yourself.

This is where the 80/20 Pareto rule becomes relevant.

The strategies I am suggesting in this system only need to be followed for approximately 24 days a month or 80% of your month.

The remaining 20% for about 6 days take it easy.

Party. Enjoy yourself.

But, of course, do it mindfully.

And when you get off track, that slight guilt or awareness can help you get back on track.

Let’s say today is your sattvic day.

You partied last night, and today is your sadhu day.

You decide:

No caffeine after 3 PM.

You are planning a night ritual that will help support great sleep.

Perhaps you are aiming for a 90+ score on an Ultrahuman Ring.

Now, you know by now that to get a solid sleep score of 90+, a proper night ritual needs to be in place.

And for a good night ritual, you may have to say no to your friends who want to go drinking.

You may have to convince yourself or your partner to cook at home.

You may have to convince yourself not to binge-watch the latest Korean zombie show.

I know it’s quite a lot.

Saying NO to so many amazing things that make you feel good can be difficult.

But that’s one reason why only a small percentage of people are able to stay consistent when it comes to their health.

And you know this:

If you can achieve solid, robust health, you can achieve literally anything money, relationships, and more.

The foundation is health.

So all I am asking is 24 days in a month.

If you are a health freak and already live a super-healthy life, then maybe 27–28 days a month.

But you need to let go  mindfully, of course  for a few days each month and enjoy life.

That allows you to be gung-ho about the remaining 24–26 days.

The goal is not perfection.

The goal is consistent action with room for real life.

Your Evening Health Ritual

So, on your sadhu days:

1. No caffeine after 3 PM

Give your body enough time to process the caffeine before bedtime.

2. Eat at home

And more importantly, eat early.

As early as you can.

If you sleep by 11 PM, aim for no calories after 8 PM.

Ideally, nothing after sunset.

3. Reduce evening screen exposure

Use blue-light blocker glasses or set your screens to night mode.

And overall, limit your screen time after sunset.

4. Get appropriate sunlight exposure

And this one is important and not many people know this.

The script emphasizes exposure to sunlight in the late noon to early evening for its potential role in supporting your body’s evening rhythm.

The bigger picture is your overall daily light exposure.

You want morning light exposure, mid-day sunlight for Vitamin D, and appropriate late-day outdoor light exposure.

The goal is to support the natural rhythm between cortisol and melatonin.

The idea is simple:

Cortisol should decline toward the evening while melatonin rises.

If you look carefully, cortisol and melatonin are almost like they are dancing with each other.

To support a healthy daily rhythm, aim for appropriate sunlight exposure throughout the day rather than relying on one single exposure.

The original framework recommends approximately 30–40 minutes of total sun exposure across the day.

Once again, the hinge point is between 3 and 5 PM.

Plan ahead for a solid night ritual that will support a good night’s sleep.

And then:

TRACK your sleep.

You can use the Sleep Cycle app, a smart ring, or a smartwatch.

Why monitor your sleep?

Because when you monitor the right habits, it increases awareness.

Awareness then leads to action.

And action, when repeated consistently, leads to results.

It becomes a loop.

A self-enforcing one.

Monitor → Awareness → Action

Once again:

Monitor → Awareness → Action.

When you see that your sleep score is 90, you feel good.

You want to repeat the action.

You want to sleep like that more days in a month.

And when you do that, your mornings can feel completely different.

• You feel strong.
• You feel powerful.
• You may find that you don’t need three cups of coffee just to start your day.

Your morning cortisol can be assessed through testing, and the functional range I discuss in my framework is 18–22.

You get high on life.

When your nervous system is robust, people see that.

They see that energy.

They see that spark.

So a good night’s sleep has a ripple effect, touching deeply into all facets of your life.

Don’t fool yourself into thinking that supplements are the answer to all your health miseries.

Supplements are important, but they are just the icing on the cake.

You need to bake the cake first.

And that starts with learning health frameworks.

The EMPOWER Health Pyramid is simple yet powerful.

Once you understand it clearly, you can better understand how the different systems of the body work together.

You learn to work on the root rather than simply chasing symptoms.

Most health experts enforce and teach a symptom-based mindset:

“Just drink this or eat that and all your health problems will go away.”

It does not work like that.

And deep inside, you know that is not the answer.

The answer you are looking for is a system, a simple yet effective health framework.

Become Your Own Health Coach

For 20 years in the health and fitness field, I have created a few simple yet powerful systems and frameworks that can help you make sense of health.

I want to make health easy for you.

I want to make health visible for you.

And it starts with understanding your foundation.

If your nervous system, sleep, stress management, breathing patterns, and recovery are not being addressed, constantly adding more supplements, more protein, or more workouts may not solve the underlying problem.

Fix your nervous system first.

Build the foundation.

Then build everything else on top of it.

COMMENT “EMPOWER” if you want the free course.

It won’t be free for long, so get access while it is available.

Over the weekend, just spare 30 minutes to 1 hour or even start with 30 minutes to learn the mindset behind the EMPOWER Health Pyramid.

It could change the way you think about your health.

Until next time,

I am Akash. Namaste!

1. Why should I fix my nervous system before focusing on nutrition and exercise?

The nervous system influences stress responses, sleep, recovery, digestion, and many other physiological processes. The core message of this framework is that your foundation matters: nutrition and exercise work better when sleep, stress, and recovery are also addressed.

2. What are the two “hinge points” discussed in this framework?

The first hinge point is your morning alarm, and the second occurs between 3 and 5 PM. The 3–5 PM period is particularly important because planning your evening can influence caffeine intake, meals, screen exposure, and your eventual sleep routine.

3. Why avoid caffeine after 3 PM?

Caffeine has a relatively long half-life and can remain in your system for hours. For some people, afternoon or evening caffeine can interfere with falling asleep or sleep quality. The framework therefore recommends no caffeine after 3 PM on your structured “sadhu days.”

4. What is the 80/20 rule for health?

The approach recommends following your health strategies for approximately 24 days out of every month, or about 80% of the month, while allowing roughly 6 days to relax, socialize, and enjoy yourself mindfully.

5. What should I do on my “sadhu days”?

The framework recommends several habits, including:

• No caffeine after 3 PM
• Eating dinner early
• If sleeping at 11 PM, aiming for no calories after 8 PM
• Limiting screens after sunset
• Using night mode or blue-light-blocking strategies
• Getting appropriate outdoor light exposure
• Tracking your sleep

6. How can tracking sleep improve my habits?

Tracking creates a feedback loop:

Monitor → Awareness → Action

When you see your sleep patterns or sleep score, you become more aware of your habits. That awareness can encourage you to repeat behaviors that support better sleep.

7. Do I need supplements to improve my health?

Supplements can have a role in specific situations, but they should not replace foundational habits such as adequate sleep, recovery, nutrition, movement, stress management, and healthy routines.

8. What is the EMPOWER Health Pyramid?

The EMPOWER Health Pyramid is a health framework created to help people understand foundational health principles and focus on root causes rather than simply treating individual symptoms.

9. What does “fix your nervous system first” mean?

It means prioritizing foundational factors that support nervous-system regulation, particularly sleep, stress management, breathing patterns, recovery, and daily routines, before constantly adding more supplements or training.

10. How much sleep should I aim for?

The framework emphasizes making quality sleep a priority rather than trying to function on inadequate sleep. The broader recommendation in your content is to aim for at least 7 hours of good-quality sleep, with individual needs varying.