The nervous system, stress response system, and how to use this knowledge to reduce stress in your life
Stress can impact our health in so many different ways. To understand how we can decrease stress in our lives we need to have a brief understand the nervous system to understand our stress response. By understanding our stress response we can explore ways to activate the system responsible for allowing our bodies to recover from stress.
Overview of the Nervous System:
There are two main parts of the nervous system -- the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS). The CNS is your brain and spinal cord, while the PNS are all the nerves outside your brain and spinal cord.
The PNS is further subdivided into the somatic nervous system (SNS) and the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The somatic nervous system controls conscious or voluntary movements and activities, such as moving your hands to make a sandwich. The autonomic nervous system happens “automatically” and controls all unconscious activities, such as digesting the sandwich you ate for lunch today. The autonomic system is further subdivided into the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system.
How the Nervous System Relates to Stress
The sympathetic nervous system is sometimes referred to as fight or flight. This system is turned on by the perception of stress or danger. The activation of the stress response is the job of the sympathetic nervous system. One common example describes how if you were to see a tiger, the sympathetic nervous system would turn on. Changes would occur to allow you to escape the tiger. For example, your heart rate would increase, glucose would be released for energy, digestion would stop, and so on. These all occur due to the activation of the sympathetic nervous system and would give you more energy and resources to escape the tiger.
The parasympathetic nervous system is sometimes referred to as rest and digest. It is responsible for allowing your body to repair and rest. In this state, the stress response is turned off. In the tiger example, this system would be activated once you have made it to safety and calmed down. Your body would replenish nutrients, heal wounds, slow your heart rate, and more.
Relate To Your Life:
Ideally, the sympathetic nervous system would only be turned on for activities such as exercising or occasional stress. Unfortunately, in today's stressful world, this is often not the case. When people suffer from daily stress and don't have the tools to manage it, they can end up staying in a sympathetic (stressed) state. There are many health consequences of living in prolonged states of stress. For example, difficulty concentrating, tiredness, depression, anxiety and more. These symptoms can be understood through the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) as people move past the alarm stage and into resistance and exhaustion.
Thankfully, there are strategies to activate the parasympathetic nervous system to lessen the effects of the stress you experience. In addition, because the parasympathetic nervous system can be activated by the PERCEPTION of stress, a lot of work can be done to address the perception of stress.
Stress Reduction:
Strategies to Activate the Parasympathetic Nervous System:
Use these strategies to help with stress reduction
Diaphragmatic breathing
Yoga
Mild exercise
Immersing yourself in nature
Meditation
Meditation in this circumstance can mean many things. It is whatever allows you to relax, unwind and soothe your senses. In other words, most of your senses are “shut off”. In this state, you aren’t thinking about anything else. It shouldn’t involve any stress (such as intense exercise). Some examples are cooking, taking a bath, giving yourself a hand massage, etc.
Eliminating stress from your lives isn’t realistic or possible. It’s best to determine ways to remove unnecessary stress and change your perception of stress. Practicing these strategies before, during and after experiencing stress can be beneficial. These strategies can help in a single stressful circumstance however, the more they are used, the more the benefits will be felt.
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