How are You Resting?

I was talking with a client yesterday about the two different parts of the autonomic nervous system. One portion is our fight/flight/freeze division known as our sympathetic nervous system. This one is designed to help us flee from danger and should be dominant our physiology about 20% of the time. The other portion is our rest/digest/heal division known as our parasympathetic nervous system. Ideally this is our dominating system working 80% of our day. Unfortunately for most of us, those percentages have switched around and we spend most of our day in a state ready to run from a tiger, even though there is no obvious tiger present. My client is well versed in anatomy and physiology and understands how they work. But she was missing one vital piece. When we were discussing how to manage stressors and improving parasympathetic function, I was told that it'll happen on Monday (her day off). 

Now don't get me wrong, I'm all about three day weekends. Having an extra day to recoup from a stressful week and possibly weekend is important. But, waiting to deal with a stress-filled life, until there is a whole day available is missing the boat. To be truly healthful, your body needs to be able to adapt to your stressors as they come up and then return to the parasympathetic state. Bottling them up for many days until you have a day free to deal with them is never going to give you a vital, thriving life on a day to day basis. It'll just have you constantly playing catch up. And a body playing catch up is going to eventually break down in the form of illness and/or injury.

What can you do to help your body daily to have a dominating rest/digest/heal state? I'm so glad you asked.

1. Get enough sleep. Preferably 8-9 hours. It is so imperative for our body to allow it to process all that has gone on during the daytime hours and recharge our batteries (so to speak). Avoid electronics at night to help your body drop into sleep faster. The blue light in our tv's and phones messes with our circadian rhythm and sleepy time hormones, which is no bueno.
2. Nourish your body with good hydration and nutrients from food. Well fed cells are healthy cells and they will function more efficiently if they are given the best.
3. Meditate and focus on your breath. Deep breathing into the diaphragm activates the parasympathetic nervous system. Stopping to do this during the day will literally slow your whole body down from the brain to the body.
4. Get adjusted by your Chiropractor on a regular basis. Chiropractic adjustment activate the parasympathetic system and it's why you might have noticed yourself become sleepy after your visit. Obviously this isn't a daily occurrence but should be a regular one and not just when you are in pain.
5. Move slowly. High intensity exercise is great and we need to do that too. But, when we are already bombarded with stressors in our lives and find ourselves not coping as well as we could, then adding another stressor such as exercise is actually going to do more harm than good. Go for a walk around your neighborhood. Do some yoga or stretching. Move slowly and deliberating.

Stress is unavoidable. We need it to grow and develop as humans. But, when it becomes overbearing it leads to a whole host of health issues. Start implementing some of the tips above and reap the benefits!

Peace, Love and Wellness

​Dr. Liz