How Your Nervous System State Can Help or Hinder Your Healing Journey
"The greatest wealth is health." - Virgil
Hey there, lovely readers! Today, we're diving into the fascinating world of our nervous system, exploring the crucial difference between sympathetic and parasympathetic states. Understanding these two states and learning how to shift between them can be a total game-changer for your overall well-being.
What's the Difference?
- Sympathetic State: This is your body's "fight or flight" mode, triggered by stress, anxiety, or danger. Your heart rate increases, breathing quickens, and energy is diverted to your muscles.
- Parasympathetic State: This is your body's "rest and digest" mode, promoting relaxation, reducing stress, and conserving energy. It’s the ideal state for healing.
Why is it Important to Shift between States?
Being stuck in a sympathetic nervous state for too long can lead to burnout, anxiety, and decreased productivity and halted or slowed healing. On the other hand, regularly shifting to parasympathetic mode can:
Reduce Stress and Anxiety: By activating the parasympathetic nervous system, you can calm your mind and body.
Improve Sleep: A balanced nervous system helps regulate sleep patterns and improves the quality of rest.
Boost Productivity: By managing stress and increasing focus, you can achieve more in less time.
Boost Healing: Yes, Please!
The body has a harder time healing and digesting when in a sympathetic state. Here's why:
Digestion: The sympathetic nervous system can slow down digestion, leading to digestive issues like bloating, cramps, reduced nutrient absorption and changes in bowel habits.
Healing: The body's ability to heal and repair tissues is impaired when in a sympathetic state. This is because the body's resources are diverted to more immediate survival needs.
On the other hand, the parasympathetic state promotes digestion and healing by:
Increasing Blood Flow: The parasympathetic nervous system increases blood flow to the digestive organs, supporting nutrient absorption and waste elimination.
Stimulating Digestive Processes: The parasympathetic nervous system stimulates digestive processes, including the release of digestive enzymes and hormones.
Promoting Tissue Repair: The parasympathetic nervous system promotes tissue repair and healing by increasing the release of growth factors and other nutrients.
By shifting to a parasympathetic state, you can support your body's natural healing and digestive processes, leading to improved overall health and well-being. The problem is sometimes the nervous system get’s stuck sympathetic mode.
What Causes Our Nervous System to Get Stuck?
- Chronic Stress: Ongoing stress at work or home can keep your nervous system in sympathetic mode.
- Lack of Sleep: Poor sleep quality or duration can disrupt the balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic states.
- Technology Overload: Constant exposure to screens and notifications can stimulate the sympathetic nervous system.
- Chronic Illness: Being in chronic pain and dealing with illness for an extended period of time can keep you nervous system in this state as well. Even being more isolated can play a role in getting stuck when you are ill and socialize less.
Tools to Help You Shift to the Rest and Digest Parasympathetic State are…
- LifeWave Aeon, Alavida, and X39 Patches: These innovative patches use low light infrared light therapy to stimulate specific biological reactions by placing them on the body; they promote relaxation and increase the bodies ability to handle stress. The Aeon patch, in particular, is designed to lower stress and promote relaxation.
- Dolphin VNS (Vagus Nerve Stimulation): This non-invasive technology stimulates the vagus nerve, promoting relaxation and reducing anxiety.
Carla Brown is a great laughter yoga instructor. Get ready to laugh and be silly and feel better! Laughter is great medicine after all!
- Laughter Yoga: This practice combines laughter exercises with mantras and movement, helping to reduce stress and increase feelings of joy. Carla Brown is an award winning Laughter Yoga instructor. I have attended several of her classes. You can find her on facebook. She offers some free laughter yoga classes via Zoom.
- Getting Outdoors: Spending time in nature can help calm the mind and promote a sense of well-being. Forrest bathing is excellent for this, but if you are to ill to get outside try playing nature sounds and watching nature videos on Youtube or Vimeo.
- Savoring Little Pleasures: Focusing on the small joys in life can help shift your perspective and reduce stress. This can be as simple as enjoying a snuggle with your pet, child, lover, or savoring a cup of hot tea or a delicious piece of cake.
Every time you lovingly stroke or pet your favorite furry animal, your nervous system will benefit.
- Somatic Work: This approach focuses on internal physical perception and experience, helping to release stored tension and trauma. (Think about my last few posts—grounding, orienting, butterfly hugs, and havening touch are excellent somatic exercises.) Have you found a favorite yet?
Watercolor painting has always been one of my favorite hobbies. It helps me relax and notice the little details on the beautiful things around me. This CHROMATEK Watercolor Paint Set comes with tutorials and brushes and paint in tubes. I’ve also been eyeballing a set shown below (bottom left) by Artecho set.
- Taking Time to Play and Relax: Engage in activities that bring you joy and help you unwind, such as hobbies, arts, games, or spending time with loved ones. Just gazing into the eyes of a friend and sharing your feelings can activate the parasympathetic state. Do you have someone you could do this with in your life?
- Getting out for a walk: This is a great way to reset your nervous system; the movement and rhythm of walking can be a quick and easy way to clear your mind and open yourself up to a greater sense of calm.
- Watching Your Favorite Light Comedy Series: Rewatching your favorite shows can act as a calming source for the nervous system. Some popular favorites of mine include:
- The Big Bang Theory
- Friends
- The Golden Girls
- Emily in Paris
- Poldark
-Anne of Green Gables (Original Version)
Research revealed watching the same show again and again can help regulate and calm your nervous system.
Signs of a Shift
When you try some of these tools, here are some signs that indicate a shift from the sympathetic nervous system state to the parasympathetic nervous system state:
Physical Signs:
- Slower Heart Rate: A decrease in heart rate can indicate a shift to the parasympathetic state.
- Deeper Breathing, Sighing or Yawning: Slower, deeper breaths can be a sign of parasympathetic dominance.
- Relaxation of Muscles: A decrease in muscle tension can indicate a shift to the parasympathetic state.
- Increased Salivation: Increased salivation can be a sign of parasympathetic activity.
- Increased Digestion: Improved digestion, including increased bowel sounds, gurgles, and movement, can indicate a shift to the parasympathetic state.
Emotional Signs:
- Feeling Calm and Relaxed: A sense of calmness and relaxation can indicate a shift to the parasympathetic state.
- Reduced Anxiety: A decrease in anxiety and stress can be a sign of parasympathetic dominance.
- Increased Feelings of Safety and Well Being: Feeling safe, well, and secure can indicate a shift to the parasympathetic state. I noticed this shift the first few weeks on Aeon and X39 patches.
Hugging for at least 20 seconds is another way to reduce anxiety.
Other Signs:
- Increased Creativity: A shift to the parasympathetic state can increase creativity and improve problem-solving skills.
- Improved Focus: Improved focus and concentration can be a sign of parasympathetic dominance.
I always feel better after a good night’s sleep. I have noticed I sleep much deeper with the Alavida patch. We had thunderstorms at night the last week and all around me people were talking about them. I have been using the Alavida patch at night and slept right through them. For me, a light sleeper, that is quite the testimony.
- Better Sleep: Improved sleep quality can indicate a shift to the parasympathetic state. The Alavida patch works wonderfully for better sleep by regulating melatonin levels, calming the nervous system, and providing it’s users. with beautiful firmer, hydrated skin. It should only be worn at night. % nights on and 2 nights off each week. There are additional skin care products to use with it if you want to take your skin to the next level of anti-aging and rejuvenation. You can get a set of patches and products together here.
By recognizing the signs of being in both nervous system states, you can better understand when you've shifted to a parasympathetic state and take steps to maintain this balance for improved overall health and well-being. Learning to recognize what state you are in and how to shift when needed are important steps toward healing. Now that you have some of these tools, try using them when you get stressed or feel yourself taking more shallow breaths, feeling the urge to run and hide, or simply find yourself shutting down and isolating from the world.
By incorporating these tools and techniques into your daily routine, you can better manage stress, improve your overall well-being, increase your bodies digestive and recovery capabilities, and move forward in your healing journey as you unlock the secrets of your nervous system.
Don’t Miss THIS: I have a great deal to share with you this week from Lifewave including two of the patches I mentioned earlier in this post. It is only available for a short period of time. Starting today (June 30), you can get a Performance Bundle pack of X39 and X49 and get a free sleeve of Aeon. A 30 day month supply. Both X39 and Aeon are wonderful for shifting us back into the rest, digest, parasympathetic state and they come with a load of other health benefits too! This deal is only available June 30 through July 13. Reach out any today this week and let’s talk about what these patches could do for you in your quest for a healthier more balanced nervous system.
‘Till next time, keep grounding, and keep using these wonderful recovery tools. Unless you are an angel, and then by all means fly. :)
Limited time offer for free Aeon, happy patches
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