Nervine Herbs- What Are They and What Do They Do For Your Body?

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You got a lot of nerve! My nerves are shot! My nerves are frayed! They feel like they are made of jade with all emotions on parade. Oops, sorry I got carried away.
Well, I'm not being a poet right now, but the point is that people say a lot about the nervous system like they know how it affects everything, but I am sure never really looked at the truth of how the nervous system affects EVERYTHING in the body.
There is absolutely nothing in the body that isn’t affected by the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves. Peripheral usually means in or around the outermost level. And it still does mean that in this instance, but it is referring to being outside the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord).
Peripheral nerves are all the nerves, sensory, motor and autonomic that come out of the central nervous system and branch out to reach even the furthest periphery of the body. Some of these nerves give commands and some get feedback. And some do both without you having to concentrate on it.
If just your nervous system could stand there without any other body part, you would still see the person you recognize when you look in the mirror, maybe minus the hair and a different color, but a smooth form just the same.
These nerves allow the macro and micromanagement of the whole body, but many times parts of this system are just shut off or blocked or the flow is just not what it used to be. And most of the time you don’t even get any clear symptom picture.

You just feel older and more sluggish. Or you can’t feel or move like you used to. Or you are slower. Or if a specific branch of nerves to an organ is blocked, then anything can go wrong with that organ. Or you can just feel blah or stressed out.
The condition of your nervous system, if it is in good shape, makes your whole body work in harmony because of full back and forth communication, and so you feel great. But to the degree that communication is blocked off the less great you feel.
When the term ”nervine” was coined, it referred to drugs or patent medicines (today called over the counter drugs or alternative formulas) that calmed the nervous system.
Today it is more recognized that the nerves are not just something you need to shut up and suppress. At least most alternative healers know this.
So “nervine” has taken on the new meaning of anything that nourishes, supports and/or balances out the nervous system including the brain and spinal cord. This still accomplishes its calming, but by righting the cause, not suppressing it.
But it is questionable to me whether that is really the newer definition. It seems to me that Ayurveda and TCM had that definition all along and now it is just being renewed.
Nervine comes from the Latin nervus that meant "long white fiber" and included nerves and sinew (tendons) or anything long and tough. Later the word nervinous came from nervus and meant something related to or affecting the nerves. And then came nervine which had the connotation that the usual effect was soothing or calming the nerves. There it is! It is common that derivations of words clarify the history.
Today when classifying herbal nervines you might become confused because a lot of the nervines, particularly the ones that balance out the system, are also adaptogens. Balance and adaptogens just go together since adaptogens are like a switch that increases or lowers things as needed. It adapts the situation toward a normal balance.
That definition requires a lot more understanding than is easily understood and may be the reason you don’t find it easily. It is usually washed over with an oversimplified “Helps the body recover from stresses”. Well, let me tell you, even a nice glass of fresh cool water helps the body overcome stresses, but you wouldn’t call it an adaptogen, right?
So let’s look at the categories of nervine herbs with a few examples of the top herbs of each. Keep in mind however that anything you do for your health affects your overall health and many of these herbs overlap and help other things directly as well as helping through the nervous system. We only categorize things to understand them better, but everything helps everything if it helps anything.
And just because an herb may lean toward one or another category, doesn’t mean it doesn’t also have properties that would fit in the other categories as well.

Nervines can be broken down into Tonics, Stimulants and Relaxants.
Nervine Tonics
Tonics are things that nourish, strengthen and sometimes boost a system. You can take a tonic that strengthens every day for long term improvement. For long term improvement of the nervous system these are commonly used:
Milky Oats
Skullcap
Albizia
Bacopa
Ashwagandha
Gotu Kola
Nervine Relaxants
Chamomile
Lemon Balm
Lavender
Passionflower
Valerian
Hops
California Poppy
Catnip
Kava Kava (Just Kava if your being lazy)
St Johns Wort
Ashwagandha
Gotu Kola
Nervine Stimulants
Rhodiola
Rosemary
Ginkgo
Ashwagandha
Gotu Kola
Nervines can work a variety of ways. First, they can provide nutrition. Nutrients like vitamin B12, Omega 3 fatty acids, and antioxidants are especially helpful to the nervous system.
They can also work with neurotransmitters. A neurotransmitter is a chemical that works at the nerve endings to bridge the gap between the individual nerve cells. It is a space gap and a communication gap. Good effective neurotransmitters ensure swift two-way communication throughout the body.
An example of a neurotransmitter is GABA (GammaAminoButyric Acid). That is a neurotransmitter that is involved with making the nerves calm down and is the most common example used for nervines. Acetylcholine is another neurotransmitter you may have heard of. It has to do with clear thinking and muscle movement.
Some nervines, usually the adaptogens like Ashwagandha, Rhodiola and Gotu Kola, can affect monitoring centers in the body that control the pressure and speed and balance of things. You may have heard of the HPA axis that puts the hypothalamus, pituitary and adrenals in sync. This is an example of one of those centers.
So, you may have thought that nervine herbs were only for the mentally stressed, but everybody has a nervous system. And a little chamomile at night or when you want to relax can go a long way. Not by nerve suppression, but by making the nerves more resilient and so calmer. The strong are usually calmer, right?
Ashwagandha is wonderful for anybody and is one of the first herbs you should reach for when anything is not right.
Really you should treat your herbal “pharmacy” like a food pantry. It is food, you know. At least the supplements you get from Herbal Roots are. You can try different herbs every day until you settle on a few favorites, just like you have your favorite foods.
I would start with those adaptogens if your budget is limited. But a little at a time you could try out everything. I wish you fun on this happy health adventure!