Founder, chronically wired for years. What actually moved my nervous system and what didn't

Ran companies for two decades with permanent low-grade stress. Resting HR in the 60s, waking at 4am, tired but wired all day

Didn't do much:

• adaptogens. ashwagandha, rhodiola, the whole shelf. Felt nothing
• morning cold plunges. i was already sympathetic, i was just adding adrenaline on top
• HRV tracking itself. Started stressing about the score, which is a very funny way to lower it
• HIIT. more load on a system that was already overloaded

Actually moved:

• long exhales. 4 in, 8 out, five minutes, twice a day. Cheapest thing i've found and the only one i could feel working in real time
• zone 2 walking instead of hard training. 45 min, boring, worked
• caffeine only after 10am, and down to one. this one hurt and mattered most
• sunlight in the first hour(if possible)

The honest part though- none of it held while the underlying thing stayed the same. I was regulating my nervous system every morning and then feeding it back into the same twelve hours. The protocol was real, it just wasn't upstream enough.

What's worked for people carrying a similar load?