Getting to Know Nervines

Plant Medicine for the Nervous System

When you’re feeling like the bundle of nerves that you are (biologically speaking, we are quite “wired” with nerves after all)…look no further than the class of herbal nervines. If you’re plugged into the natural, wellness, or herbal industries (or if you just pay close attention when you stroll the aisles of your local grocery stores), you’ve probably noticed fun + fancy herbal buzzwords like adaptogens and nootropics calling out to you. And while these categories are awesome in their own ways (and I look forward to sharing more on them in future articles in this Substack)…what about nervines?

While not impossible to spot this word out in the wild, it’s not nearly as commonly found. How come you ask? Well, every herbalist has their own reasoning I’m sure, but my hunch is because nervines are a humble class of herbs. They don’t promise to help get you “amped up” before your workout, provide stamina support so you can conquer the corporate ladder, or keep your focus sharp as a tack while you cross off your ever-growing to-do list.

In fact, they do quite the opposite in many regards.

Nervines in essence are a class of herbs that help calm and regulate the nervous system. They invite us to slow down in a world that often feels like it is increasingly speeding up. I refer to nervines as “humbling” because, through their invitation for us to slow down (via calming the nerves), they inadvertently prompt us to sit with, feel, and process our human-ness.

When our internal