If you’ve read my articles before, you may know I am a total nervous system nerd. The nervous system is the mechanism of direction and feedback for our soft tissue which, in turn, moves our skeleton and connective tissues. The nervous system has sensory and motor pathways throughout the entire body, including our musculature, organs, connective tissues and even bone.
How and what we feel, what we sense and the emotions we experience all impact how we physically hold ourselves and how we move. We can sense through our entire being as well as our well-known senses, hearing, sight, touch, smell and taste. We receive information from our body which travels to our brain and, of course, signals are also sent from our brain to our body. These two information pathways together influence movement and posture, as well as how outputs — such as emotions — are directed and experienced. Even our most involuntary processes, such as digestion, heart rate and blood pressure, can be directly influenced by methods that stimulate various states in our nervous system. We can think of the nervous system as our basic electrical wiring.
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You’ve got some nerve(s)
Bear with me here for a brief anatomy lesson. The central nervous system and peripheral nervous system are the two main branches of our nervous system. The peripheral nervous system isn’t contained in the brain or spinal cord. It’s further divided into the somatic nervous system — which innervates all skeletal muscles, receives sensory information, and sends messages up to the brain — and the autonomic nervous system (ANS).
The ANS is a self-regulating system that responds to our environments, both internal and external. The ANS is divided into the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) and enteric nervous system (ENS).
Our SNS comes online when we interpret evidence within and around us as a potential threat. In our anatomy, the SNS is dominant through the thoracolumbar area — in people, the middle and lower back — and has links through all organs and musculoskeletal systems. It’s our action-dominated system. We need it to stimulate action (and reaction) for survival- and performance-based activities.
The PNS is responsible for bringing us down from the SNS response, allowing us to “rest and digest.” The PNS has a cranial sacral outflow — that is, from the skull and pelvis. It supports internal organs’ day-to-day functioning, and the necessary restoration after any form of SNS activity.
A major nerve involved in the PNS is the vagus nerve. Its many branches form the longest nerve in the body, running from the brainstem, down the neck, connecting through our cardiovascular system, digestive tract and reproductive system. Being close to the respiratory diaphragm, it connects us, through our breath, to our neurological state.
This wandering nerve is one of our most vital sensory information pathways. It is also one of the reasons those chronically in a sympathetic, or reactive, state have difficulties with digestion, reproduction and cardiovascular symptoms (such as heart palpitations, shortness of breath et cetera).
For our nervous system and vagal function, this ability to flow between states in context-appropriate ways can influence all aspects of our health and well-being. Our ability to perceive signals of safety allows us to appropriately shift gears in and out of our reactive state (the SNS) and our rest-and-digest state (the PNS).
Tone up, tone down
Vagus nerve function is often referred to as vagal tone. We need vagal tone to react to environments, digest, connect with others, and rest, in appropriate contexts. Chronically low vagal tone has been associated with many stress-related conditions, anxiety, sleep disruptions, chronic pain, digestive issues and much more.
A few safe ways to support healthy vagal tone on your own include:
- Humming or singing.
- Breathing exercises that utilize a short pause at the top of the inhale, and bottom of the exhale. Try breathing in for four seconds, holding for four seconds, exhaling for four seconds, and holding again for four seconds. Repeat this over two minutes or about 10 rounds.
- Hugging a loved one.
- Spending quality time with pets.
- Receiving a therapeutic massage.
- The temperature in a warm/hot shower or bath.
- A weighted blanket, or other methods of gentle sustained pressure on the body.
- Practicing intentional exercise or movement that you enjoy.
It’s important to recognize chronic stress, history of trauma, chronic illnesses of various kinds and other factors can influence our vagal tone and our overall well-being. If you’re experiencing chronic health issues or other symptoms that affect your quality of life, it’s important to seek qualified guidance either from a medical practitioner or a qualified allied health provider to get individualized support.
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