Science-Backed Ways to Calm a Heightened Stress Response

Relentless stress can accumulate over months or years. Loss, illness, major life changes and constant responsibilities at work and home can stack up until everyday hassles feel impossible to manage. Tasks that once felt routine may start to trigger outsized reactions, frequent arguments or a sense of being on edge all the time.

This ongoing overload can take a physical toll, leading to gastrointestinal problems, heart palpitations and sleep difficulties. Emotionally, it may show up as irritability, anger, trouble concentrating or feeling as though clear thinking has vanished.

There is a term for this state: high stress reactivity. Stress reactivity, defined as “the capacity or tendency to respond to a stressor,” is not inherently bad. In healthy amounts it prepares the body and mind to act when a problem or threat appears. Without some level of stress response, it would be hard to mobilise, make decisions or cope.

Problems arise when stress reactivity spikes and stays elevated. In that state, it takes very little to trigger the alarm system. Reactions come quickly, feel intense or last longer than the situation requires, which can undermine both health and day-to-day wellbeing.

Close to a boil

High stress reactivity is linked to increased or prolonged activation of the body’s fight-or-flight response, says mental health expert Richard Davidson. When someone is highly reactive to stress, it takes less to switch on all the physiological and psychological responses than it does in most people.

In research settings, reactivity is measured by changes in heart rate and blood pressure plus levels of stress hormones such as cortisol. In everyday life, a highly reactive person might notice a racing mind, heart palpitations or muscle tension. They may start sweating or feel restless, anxious or hypervigilant.

Once the nervous system sits in that highly alert state, even minor stressors can feel like major threats. “When stressful events occur, the amygdala deep inside the brain gets activated and recruits other regions of the brain to deal with the stress,” Davidson explains. Once the amygdala is buzzing, “it doesn’t take as much stress the next time to activate it, and then it recovers more slowly.”

High stress reactivity often looks like snapping over something small after days or weeks of ongoing pressure. “When it feels like too much is coming at you and you don’t have a chance to regroup or recalibrate, it makes you more vulnerable to reacting intensely to the next stressor,” says psychologist Jenny Taitz. “It’s almost as if your ability to cope has been compromised.”

The longer someone lives in this heightened state, the harder it becomes to slip back into a more resilient mode. “People may feel more negative emotions and fewer positive emotions. Over time, it can wear down their ability to cope,” says senior research fellow Joshua Wiley.

Who‘s hit hardest

People with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are prone to high stress reactivity, says Taitz. “Those with untreated PTSD are especially highly reactive and have a rapid startle response,” she notes. Early exposure to stress, such as experiencing abuse or neglect as a child, is also associated with greater stress reactivity throughout life.

Depression can be a contributing factor too. “People who are clinically depressed or who have a history of depression often have disproportionately greater reactivity to stressors compared with others,” says academy professo Janice Kiecolt-Glaser. People with depression also tend to ruminate, or engage in repetitive thinking about negative events and distressing feelings, which can contribute. “When we’re actively anticipating a stressful event, reactivity is often heightened, and the same is true if we keep ruminating about the event afterward,” Kiecolt-Glaser says. “The stressor isn’t present, but our thoughts keep it alive and kicking us beforehand and afterward.”

That said, just about anyone can experience high stress reactivity under certain circumstances, such as when life throws too much at them or they are hit with something unusually traumatic or upsetting.

It's not just stress

Stress is inevitable, but what makes high stress reactivity different is that unless there is a way to return to a baseline level of calm and respond to stress in a measured way, it keeps building. The health consequences are many. Besides being utterly depleting, chronic heightened stress reactivity can increase the risk of chronic diseases, insomnia and other sleep disturbances and chronic pain, research shows. It can also lead to inflammation, which contributes to medical conditions including heart disease, diabetes, certain forms of cancer and respiratory diseases. “And it can exacerbate any inflammatory disease, including asthma and arthritis,” Davidson says.

It can also accelerate the ageing process. “If you are highly reactive to stress and have long-lasting stress reactivity, it can increase wear and tear on the body, accelerating biological aging,” says clinical psychologist Annelise Madison. In a 2023 study of 955 adults, researchers found that people who had more perceived stress and more stressful life events experienced faster biological ageing based on 19 biomarkers including waist-hip ratio, cholesterol levels, lung function and cardiorespiratory fitness.

High stress reactivity is also a major factor in burnout. People working in high-pressure environments, caring roles or frontline health settings often face relentless demands, limited resources and exposure to distressing situations. Over time, that constant sense of urgency can leave them feeling like “a ball of nerves” most days, with sleep disruption, digestive issues and a tendency to overreact to minor comments or setbacks. In many cases, recognising these signs and making changes to workload, support and self-care can help dial the stress response down from a constant 10 to something more manageable.

Reactivity rescue plan

To bring reactivity levels down, it helps to get the foundations right first: eat a nutrient-dense diet, prioritise sleep and stay connected to people who support you. On top of that, these strategies can make a real difference.

1. Move

Studies show consistent aerobic exercise makes people less reactive and better able to regulate emotions. Regular movement acts like a pressure valve for the nervous system, helping restore equilibrium and lift mood. A daily walk, a light jog, a dance class or a few short movement breaks across the day all count. Many people also find that pairing movement with journalling or a brief gratitude practice helps put stressful events into perspective.

2. Modify your breathing

Regular slow-breathing exercises can reduce cortisol, blood pressure and other markers of stress reactivity. Wiley suggests noticing your breathing pattern and deliberately slowing it down, breathing deeply into the belly and lengthening the exhale. Controlled-breathing techniques used in yoga are one reason even a single session can significantly reduce stress reactivity.

3. Calm your mind

Long-term meditation practitioners tend to show faster cortisol recovery after stress and healthier emotion-regulation strategies. Building a simple mindfulness practice—even a few minutes of focusing on the breath, sounds or bodily sensations—can recentre you in the present moment and interrupt the cycle of escalating stress, says Wiley.

4. Accept that stress is inevitable

Stress is part of life, but the anticipation and replaying of an upsetting event can be more draining than the event itself, says Taitz. It helps to remember that stressors come and go and emotions rise and fall. Learning to notice feelings without judging them lets you bounce back more easily. Try viewing your racing heart or tense muscles as tools helping you respond, rather than signs that something is “wrong”.

5. Take action

Intentionally cultivate a sense of wellbeing. That might mean using an evidence-based mindfulness app, following short guided practices from reputable mental health organisations or setting aside five minutes a day to work on skills like compassion, awareness and purpose. Research from Davidson and colleagues suggests that even brief daily training over a month can dial down stress reactivity when practised consistently. “Well-being is a skill,” Davidson says. “If you practise it, you will get better at it.”

Experiment with a few of these options, on your own or with professional support, and pay attention to what genuinely helps your body and mind settle. Over time, small, repeatable habits can shift your default setting from constant high alert to a steadier, more resilient baseline.

Follow your curiosity to calmness

Life coach and author Martha Beck offers a simple way to shift out of anxious overdrive: follow what she calls your “squirrels.”

She once worked with a client whose service dog was impeccably trained to sniff out dangerous chemicals that could trigger severe asthma. The dog stayed focused and calm in almost every situation, but there was one weakness: squirrels. If given the chance, he would abandon his serious duties to dash after them with total joy.

Beck invited the client to see this as a lesson. Danger and responsibility will always be there, but so will “squirrels”—moments of fun, play, joy and silliness that call for attention too. Choosing, even briefly, to shift focus from constant threat-scanning to genuine fascination can start to calm an anxious nervous system.

Everyone has their own version of squirrels: topics, hobbies or activities that feel endlessly interesting and oddly refreshing. It might be crocheting, learning a language, making art, gardening, playing tennis or restoring furniture. When curiosity is allowed to lead, it often opens into moments of awe and a deeper sense of meaning. Beck describes this as a “creativity spiral”: once the curious part of the brain is switched on, it quietly keeps exploring and making new, surprising connections.

Leaning into a true “squirrel passion” does more than fill time. Over repeat encounters, it can support nervous system regulation and gently build more calm, confidence, compassion, courage and creativity. A life-shaping interest rarely arrives as a lightning bolt; it usually begins as a small flicker of “that seems interesting” and a willingness to investigate a little further. Curiosity leads to experimentation, which leads to more curiosity and, over time, that loop can grow into a sense of purpose that steadies you, rather than stresses you.