We live in an era of stimulus overload. Every single day you are bombarded from north, south, east, west and centre - not least thanks to the screens that are taking up more and more of our time (for better and for worse).
Examples of stimulus in the modern world could be work, deadlines, financial worries, challenges with your partner, your friend, family, seemingly not enough hours in the day to accomplish all the things you want to accomplish - you get the drill. Add to this the amount of time sitting still and staring into a screen (which, in itself, hightens stress levels) and I believe you will have a good idea of what I mean. You might also have spent some, all, or a large chunk of your life in very difficult circumstances or you might carry around specific trauma. Regardless, knowing a thing or two about the nervous system can come in very, very handy. So please read on.
To give a very brief intro, your brain is wired to protect you. It is wired to sense whether danger is lurking or maybe even coming at you quickly, so that it can signal to the part(s) of your body that need to get involved to react accordingly.
To give you a very used example; Your brain picks up that a tiger is approaching. Before you manage to have a single thought your legs are running! This is because your brain immediately activated your sympathetic nervous system, also known as your ‘fight or flight’ response. The brain basically signals to the body that there is an emergency and it needs to solely focus on the parts needed in order to escape the danger. This response increases your heart rate, heightens alertness and other physiological changes to aid in survival.
Now, in this example the activation of the sympathetic nervous system was obviously a good thing. Your brain saved you. Trouble is, with our modern lifestyle, the brain tends to see tigers everywhere..
The stimulus overload as per my example above can activate your sympathetic nervous system often, if not constantly. When often or constantly activated it can lead to stress, anxiety, burnout, illness and more, simply because the brain is solely focused on activating the parts of the body needed in order to deal with the immediate danger.
And this is where the parasympathetic nervous system comes in. The counterpart to ‘fight-or-flight’, also known as ‘rest-and-digest’. The parasympathetic nervous system is important as it counteracts the stress, anxiety and burnout and instead promotes relaxation, healing, rest, digestion and restoration of the body’s resources.
There are many ways to activate the parasympathetic nervous system. Only you know what works for you.
I have listed five of my own favourites below for you to try out and feel into.
Sing. Singing stimulates the vagus nerve and interrupts the brain in believing you are under attack.
Practice yoga. Especially yoga that focuses on deep breathing and relaxation.
Deep belly breathing. Imagine you have a ballon in the lower part of your belly (give it a colour). Now imagine how your breath fills up the balloon with air while you count to 4 slowly. Hold it for a few seconds and then let go on 4 (slowly). Repeat. Make sure it’s only your belly moving, getting big as you inhale and flat as you exhale. Try to see if you can get the chest to stay steady / let the air ‘skip’ the chest.
Laugh. Engage in activities that make you laugh - or maybe watch a comedy.
Spend time in nature. And activate all your senses while doing so.
Maybe you know of more ways to activate 'rest and digest'? Please feel free to send me a note and tell me all about them - or simply to let me know how you get on.