Our Precious Nervous System

Absolutely everything we do in our life influences our nervous system. From the foods we eat, the exercise we do (or don’t do) the thoughts we think, the way we breathe and sleep ALL play a critical role in our nervous system.

Our autonomic nervous system or ANS is like the autopilot of our bodies. It just gets things done on our behalf without any conscious direction. If we cut ourselves, it just heals the wound, regulates our heart beat and or body temperature to name a few. 

Our sympathetic nervous or SNS engages our ‘fight or flight’ physical response to keep us safe and does not diferentiate between a bear chasing us (which may have been a real threat to our ancestors) and the stress of rushing to make a flight. Bottom line, our ancient DNA has not adapted to our modern day lifestyles. 

Stress is affecting so many areas of our bodies and in particular our digestion. When we are in SNS dominance all our blood is shuttled away from our vital organs and to our peripheries to “save” us. 

One of the best things we can do before we eat is take 3 mindful breaths and focus on the exhale being longer then the inhale such as 4 in, 6 out. This activates our parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), our rest and digest part of our autonomic nervous system (ANS).

SNS dominance is very damaging to our health and gives us inconsistent energy. When we crash after SNS driven dominance we often make poor choices such as sugar laden foods, caffeine or other quick “fixes”. If we find ourselves living in a perpetual state of SNS dominance poor choices are often common and the cascade of health concerns that accompany such biochemical states.

Things that activate our SNS are caffeine, and living with a sense of stress, pressure and urgency. On the flip side, things that drastically move the needle towards PNS activation is lengthening the exhalation of breath. So very profound and simple. We encourage you to become aware of this tool and utilise it next time you feel pressure mounting in your life. 

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