“Take a deep inhale….. and slowly release. We want to switch on our parasympathetic nervous systems.”
You might have heard something along these lines during a yoga class or from a wellness influencer posting from the depths of the Costa Rican jungle. These days, it’s hard to avoid the constant reminder that stress is harmful to our health and that we need to “switch on our parasympathetic nervous systems”. But what exactly is it and why exactly is stress so bad for us?
Firstly, we need to understand a little bit about at the Autonomic Nervous System. This is an incredible part of our bodies that takes care of things “behind-the-scenes”. It controls activities such as heartbeat, breathing, blood pressure, digestion and even how we feel. Imagine having to think about all of these bodily functions, on top of everything else in your busy life. Thankfully you don’t, because the Autonomic Nervous System has got your back. This system is divided into two complementary branches; the sympathetic nervous system which is linked to stress, and the parasympathetic nervous system which is linked to relaxation. Together these amazing systems allow our bodies to experience an array of useful, although not always desirable, feelings such as stress, fear, courage, relaxation, panic, and tranquillity.
First, a look at the Sympathetic Nervous System
Picture this: it’s 2024 BC and you’re setting out from your cave to forage for breakfast. As you step into the bright morning light, you find yourself faced with an enormous, salivating orange and black feline with dagger sharp teeth and razor sharp claws. You stop dead in your tracks. You feel your heart race and your limbs tingle as blood rushes through your veins, supplying you with the extra energy that you need in this moment - you have entered “fight or flight mode”. If you are wise, you will now run for your life. This is your sympathetic nervous system in action – functioning as it was designed to do in all mammals on Earth.
Now, imagine this; it's 2024 CE and you are sitting in your home office, staring at a computer screen and thinking about what you might order for lunch. Suddenly you receive an email from your boss with the subject line “Urgent - we need to talk”. You feel an instant pang of stress and worry - your heartbeat quickens, your body tingles and your palms begin to sweat. Your body has switched on your sympathetic nervous system, preparing you to fight or flee - the exact same system and response that would have been triggered four thousand years ago when you needed to run from that big, hungry cat.
Whilst we can clearly see that these two scenarios present very different levels of threat - our bodies have not evolved to differentiate between types of danger, it is only aware that it needs to respond, and will trigger the same body-wide response regardless of how life threatening the situation may be. For many of us, everyday modern life is filled with countless minor stressors that are triggering our sympathetic nervous systems repeatedly throughout the day. While it is natural to experience some stress and anxiety, long term high-stress levels mean that our sympathetic nervous system will be switched on constantly, and that is not good.
So, what about the Parasympathetic Nervous System?
As you might have guessed, the parasympathetic nervous system works in the opposite, complimentary, way to the sympathetic nervous system. After all those long, slow exhales you took in your yoga class, you may have noticed your heart rate lowering and felt a sense of calm throughout your body – you have entered the “rest and digest” state. This system is all about resting and restoring; it allows us to conserve energy and focus on autonomous activities like digestion and repair.
In an ideal world there would be perfect balance between these two systems. When balanced, they are able to keep each other in check and we are able to regulate our feelings and emotions more easily; we feel in control and emotionally healthy. However, in this day and age, maintaining balance is a real challenge, and many of us will be operating in a place of “sympathetic dominance” – constantly ready to run from that massive, hungry tiger.
What is a dysregulated nervous system?
Our bodies are not designed to feel a constant influx of stress – that is, unfortunately, just the reality of modern day human existence for many of us. The result is that our sympathetic nervous systems remain switched on and our bodies have less opportunity to re-balance through rest and recovery. This can lead to long term damage. In the short term, signs of having a dysregulated nervous system include:
Constant anxiety
Tension
Headaches
Insomnia or poor sleep
Muscle and join pain
Low energy
Mood swings
Poor concentration
Indigestion
While the short term effects are unpleasant – long term it can have a much more serious impact and lead to high blood pressure, weakened immunity and even heart issues. Not great – so, what can we do about this?
What can we do to restore balance?
Once we enter sympathetic dominance, we can get stuck in a rut of unhealthy eating and binging, not getting enough sleep, skipping exercise, drinking excessive alcohol to “relax”, and other short term fixes, in an attempt to feel better, quickly. Unfortunately, these things can lead to a downward spiral and it’s important to nip this in the bud as quickly as possible. Once you begin to implement a few positive changes, your autonomous nervous system will start to shift towards a healthy balance and you will feel energy returning, more relaxed, and like your best self once again. Here are a few tips to restoring balance:
Eat healthy – Stress has a massive impact on our digestive system, as blood flow is dramatically reduced to this area and metabolism slows down. This means it is more important than ever to eat nutritious meals that will nourish our bodies (and our minds) during times of intense stress. Our bodies will struggle to absorb nutrients at this time, so by putting as much nutritious rich food into our bodies as possible, we will increase the chances of absorbing what we need and as a result, feel better.
Get regular exercise – Even if it’s just taking a short walk, make sure you are getting some form of exercise into your day. Exercise is a great way to relieve tension and stress, and to regulate your nervous system. Find something you love to do and work it into your routine – go swimming, surfing, take a dance class, sign up for Couch to 5k. Or, why not try something new? Ever thought about qigong, pole dancing or tai chi? Maybe one of these is for you. You won’t know until you try.
Get enough sleep – Getting good sleep is essential for so many aspects of our health. We should be aiming for 8 hours a night, and in order to optimise sleep it is best to slow down before bedtime. Avoid looking at screens for at least an hour before getting into bed, don’t drink caffeine in the afternoon and cut back on alcohol in the evening. Why not try reading a few pages of a book, or doing a short meditation before getting into bed. There are a number of amazing meditation apps out there (Waking Up is my personal favourite), and you can always look up free guided meditations on YouTube or Spotify (I love to listen to a Tara Brach guided meditation before bed).
Take time to switch off – When we are wrapped up in our busy lives, it can feel impossible to find time to switch off each day, but doing so will have exponential benefits and ultimately make you that much more productive in the long run. Explore different ways of disconnecting and find what works best for you. Great examples are breathwork (check out our Rewild video here), meditation, or just spending some time outdoors in nature.
Stay hydrated – did you know that stress promotes dehydration? Make sure to drink enough water every day – start with a glass first thing in the morning when you wake up, to kick off your digestive system. This is a simple thing we can all do to promote good health!
That’s all from me – make sure to look out for the next month’s Rewild Newsletter, where we will continue to explore ways to live well.
Nikki @ The Rewild Team
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