Nervous system regulation is becoming a common term nowadays when discussing emotional and physical well-being. To best understand what nervous system regulation means, we first need a basic understanding of how our nervous system works. The nervous system as a whole is essentially our biological operating system. It controls our biological functions, movements, sensations and survival responses.
Our autonomic nervous system is where all of our in-house automatic processes take place. The autonomic nervous system is further divided into our sympathetic nervous system, known for our fight, flight or freeze responses, and our parasympathetic nervous system, known for our rest and digest responses. The parasympathetic state is where we should be spending most of our time.
Nervous system regulation is the term used to describe the process of flowing between our parasympathetic response and our sympathetic response — in other words, our ability to move from relaxed states to reactive states when needed. Both states are highly necessary and valuable for our well-being, though in today’s world we have the tendency to end up chronically experiencing a sympathetic or reaction-based state.
This state in our nervous system is utilized when we go through stress-related experiences, many of which are normal, unavoidable parts of life. Our nervous system moves into reaction mode to help us move through and survive our various stressors. It is moving out of reaction mode that many of us have lost the ability to do easily.
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Like all mammals, humans function off of this neurological mechanism. When other mammals experience stress where the fight/flight/freeze response is needed, they will quite literally shake off the energy created by the survival response afterwards. This discharge of energy is what allows them to go back to the rest/digest state.
Humans, for various reasons, do not always have an easy or accessible way to discharge reaction-focused energy. We may go through a stressful event only to be faced with another one immediately after, or the various ways we have to discharge the energy and reset our nervous systems are unattainable when the stressful event ends. Things like lifestyle and social and cultural norms all contribute to our ability to self-regulate these days, which is why nervous system regulation is becoming a necessary skill set to teach people, even given its natural and typically automatic nature.
I like to describe regulating the nervous system as rebuilding a bridge between two environments. It is relatively easy and accessible to do once we understand the ins and outs of it and commit to creating a bit of space within ourselves to explore the process.
Being in a chronic state of reaction comes with many detriments to our health. Nearly every chronic disease category has been shown to be linked to chronic stress in some way. Nervous system regulation is a big step in functional stress management and long-term well-being. The first step is to commit a few minutes a few times a day to check in with this process.
The first way I recommend for beginning to build awareness around the nervous system is by connecting to the breath. Coherent breathing, a topic I know I’ve touched on in previous articles, is often the most accessible first step. Sit or lay down comfortably and begin focusing on the breathing. Inhale towards your seat bones, imagining filling up a balloon in your mid-body with an inhale for four seconds, and then exhale completely over four seconds. Repeat this for 10 to 20 rounds or a few minutes at a time.
Coherent breathing is an excellent balancer for the nervous system. The mechanism of breathing itself connects us directly to our nervous system through both the movement and the physiological changes that happen as we direct the breath in specific ways. For those feeling a bit more tense or stressed, adjusting the coherent breath to focus more on a lengthened exhale has been shown to influence the nervous system towards a parasympathetic or relaxed state. Inhale for four seconds, then exhale for six to eight seconds for about 10 rounds if you are feeling tension in your body, anxiety or having trouble sleeping. Breathing in through the nose and longer exhales through an open mouth can also support deeper relaxation in the nervous system.
The next best thing towards regular nervous system regulation is full body movement. Movements that mimic shaking and engage large muscular systems and the whole posture are quite similar to the natural way of discharging pent-up energy we see in other mammals. Put on some music with a beat and let your body move with that beat, inviting shaking of the hands and arms or wiggling through the mid-body and keeping the knees soft. Stamping your feet on the ground or running or hopping in place with some longer exhales through the mouth can also help.
Chronic stress on a neurological level influences our entire body and mind in various ways. Sometimes chronic stress in our system can be related to trauma (physical or otherwise) or various mental health conditions. It’s important to check in with a professional who understands the neurological connection between our histories and current mental and physical states as well as progressive ways to build back a natural way of regulating the neurological state mindfully.
