Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
If anxiety, stress, or an overactive nervous system is keeping you awake, these exercises for sleep may help your body finally slow down.
In this conversation, I’m joined by Liz Tenuto, The Workout Witch, to explore exercises for sleep, nervous system regulation, stress relief, and trauma healing. We talk about why high-functioning women can feel constantly “on,” how stress can affect sleep, and how somatic exercises can help you reconnect with your body.
Liz shares simple exercises for sleep and nervous system regulation, including a gentle movement you can try in bed, plus practical ways to release tension, feel more grounded, and create a more relaxing bedtime routine.
We also explore fight-or-flight, freeze, dissociation, chronic stress, and why your body may be communicating something you haven't been listening to.
If you're struggling with anxiety, racing thoughts, poor sleep, or feeling like you can never fully switch off, this conversation is for you.
find Liz at:
theworkoutwitch.com
instagram.com/theworkoutwitch_
📚 Too Much Book: hfcbook.com
📩 Newsletter: terricole.com/newsletter
🔑 Ready to build healthier relationships? Join: terricole.com/tcm
Time Stamps
00:00 What Are Somatic Exercises?
02:35 How Trauma Can Affect Your Body
03:37 Tiny Movements That Regulate Your Nervous System
05:21 The Ancient Roots of Somatic Healing
07:11 Why Are Sleep Problems So Common?
08:02 How Stress Keeps You From Sleeping
09:47 How to Create a More Relaxing Sleep Routine
13:17 A Somatic Exercise for Sleep
14:17 How Bilateral Stimulation Releases Stress
16:53 What Does Nervous System Dysregulation Mean?
18:00 Why You Can Be in Fight-or-Flight AND Freeze
19:44 What Does Dissociation Feel Like?
21:48 Somatic Exercises to Reconnect With Your Body
23:02 A Simple Technique for Instant Relaxation
24:29 What Your Physical Symptoms May Be Telling You
26:13 Somatic Exercises for Sleep & Stress Relief
27:34 The Boundary Struggle of Overgiving
29:04 How People-Pleasing Leads to Self-Abandonment
31:08 The Importance of Internal Boundaries
31:47 How to Stop Abandoning Yourself
If You Enjoyed This, Watch These Videos
youtu.be/Pc1sUYzWefs - 7 Techniques to Soothe Your Nervous System in 2025 (Plus Guided Meditation)
youtu.be/CyfZzQ_p_eg - Tools to Regulate Your Nervous System (Easy Healing Routines)
youtu.be/5R6p8PxHNsg - Anxiety Relief: Methods to Calm Your Nervous System
🪔 Meditate with me: insighttimer.com/terricole
📸 Instagram: terricole.com/ig
About Terri Cole
Terri Cole is a licensed psychotherapist, global relationship and empowerment expert, and the author of Boundary Boss-The Essential Guide to Talk True, Be Seen and (Finally) Live Free, The Boundary Boss Workbook, and Too Much: A Guide to Breaking the Cycle of High-Functioning Codependency.
For over two decades, Terri has worked with a diverse group of clients that includes everyone from stay-at-home moms to celebrities and Fortune 500 CEOs.
She has a gift for making complex psychological concepts accessible and actionable so that clients and students achieve sustainable change. She inspires over a million people weekly through her blog, social media platform, signature courses, and her popular podcast, The Terri Cole Show. For more, see terricole.com
BetterHelp: betterhelp.com/terricole
I’m not currently taking any new one-on-one therapy or coaching clients, but highly recommend using BetterHelp to find a therapist that fits your needs. As a team, we have fully vetted BetterHelp's resources.
terricole.com/gethelp -- If you are in a crisis or any other person may be in danger, the resources on this page can provide you with immediate help.
Please note: If you choose to sign up for BetterHelp or Insight Timer or buy through my Amazon links, I will receive a commission. Please know that I only recommend services and products that I know & trust.
Episode 861
#stressrelief #traumahealing #anxietyrelief #sleep #sleepbetter
If anxiety, stress, or an overactive nervous system is keeping you awake, these exercises for sleep may help your body finally slow down.
In this conversation, I’m joined by Liz Tenuto, The Workout Witch, to explore exercises for sleep, nervous system regulation, stress relief, and trauma healing. We talk about why high-functioning women can feel constantly “on,” how stress can affect sleep, and how somatic exercises can help you reconnect with your body.
Liz shares simple exercises for sleep and nervous system regulation, including a gentle movement you can try in bed, plus practical ways to release tension, feel more grounded, and create a more relaxing bedtime routine.
We also explore fight-or-flight, freeze, dissociation, chronic stress, and why your body may be communicating something you haven't been listening to.
If you're struggling with anxiety, racing thoughts, poor sleep, or feeling like you can never fully switch off, this conversation is for you.
find Liz at:
theworkoutwitch.com
instagram.com/theworkoutwitch_
📚 Too Much Book: hfcbook.com
📩 Newsletter: terricole.com/newsletter
🔑 Ready to build healthier relationships? Join: terricole.com/tcm
Time Stamps
00:00 What Are Somatic Exercises?
02:35 How Trauma Can Affect Your Body
03:37 Tiny Movements That Regulate Your Nervous System
05:21 The Ancient Roots of Somatic Healing
07:11 Why Are Sleep Problems So Common?
08:02 How Stress Keeps You From Sleeping
09:47 How to Create a More Relaxing Sleep Routine
13:17 A Somatic Exercise for Sleep
14:17 How Bilateral Stimulation Releases Stress
16:53 What Does Nervous System Dysregulation Mean?
18:00 Why You Can Be in Fight-or-Flight AND Freeze
19:44 What Does Dissociation Feel Like?
21:48 Somatic Exercises to Reconnect With Your Body
23:02 A Simple Technique for Instant Relaxation
24:29 What Your Physical Symptoms May Be Telling You
26:13 Somatic Exercises for Sleep & Stress Relief
27:34 The Boundary Struggle of Overgiving
29:04 How People-Pleasing Leads to Self-Abandonment
31:08 The Importance of Internal Boundaries
31:47 How to Stop Abandoning Yourself
If You Enjoyed This, Watch These Videos
youtu.be/Pc1sUYzWefs - 7 Techniques to Soothe Your Nervous System in 2025 (Plus Guided Meditation)
youtu.be/CyfZzQ_p_eg - Tools to Regulate Your Nervous System (Easy Healing Routines)
youtu.be/5R6p8PxHNsg - Anxiety Relief: Methods to Calm Your Nervous System
🪔 Meditate with me: insighttimer.com/terricole
📸 Instagram: terricole.com/ig
About Terri Cole
Terri Cole is a licensed psychotherapist, global relationship and empowerment expert, and the author of Boundary Boss-The Essential Guide to Talk True, Be Seen and (Finally) Live Free, The Boundary Boss Workbook, and Too Much: A Guide to Breaking the Cycle of High-Functioning Codependency.
For over two decades, Terri has worked with a diverse group of clients that includes everyone from stay-at-home moms to celebrities and Fortune 500 CEOs.
She has a gift for making complex psychological concepts accessible and actionable so that clients and students achieve sustainable change. She inspires over a million people weekly through her blog, social media platform, signature courses, and her popular podcast, The Terri Cole Show. For more, see terricole.com
BetterHelp: betterhelp.com/terricole
I’m not currently taking any new one-on-one therapy or coaching clients, but highly recommend using BetterHelp to find a therapist that fits your needs. As a team, we have fully vetted BetterHelp's resources.
terricole.com/gethelp -- If you are in a crisis or any other person may be in danger, the resources on this page can provide you with immediate help.
Please note: If you choose to sign up for BetterHelp or Insight Timer or buy through my Amazon links, I will receive a commission. Please know that I only recommend services and products that I know & trust.
Episode 861
#stressrelief #traumahealing #anxietyrelief #sleep #sleepbetter
