Influencing your nervous system to support your health

Influencing your nervous system to support your health^[1]

Did you know that your nervous system is probably the most important influence on your mental and physical health? Your nervous system directly impacts how you think, feel and act. Luckily, you can influence your nervous system to support your mental and physical health.

Try this Exercise ^[2]

1. Roll your shoulders forward, drop your head and eyes downward, let your arms hang loosely and walk slowly and listlessly for about 10 feet.
   • What sensations do you notice in your body when you do this? How does walking this way make you feel? How does it influence your thoughts?
   • If you saw someone walking this way, what would you guess they were thinking or feeling?
2. Plant your feet shoulder-width apart. Stand up straight and tall. Look straight ahead. Take a deep breath. Place your hands on your hips and lift your chest. 
   • What sensations do you notice in your body when you do this? How does standing like this make you feel? How does it influence your thoughts?
   • If you saw someone standing this way, what would you guess they were thinking or feeling?

The sensations in your body tell you what your nervous system is up to. In the exercise, you influence your nervous system by consciously changing body posture, gait and breathing. This shifts your body sensations, feelings and thoughts.

The best state for wellness is calm and relaxed but energized. This is also the state that allows you to socialize, think, be creative, problem solve or learn.

But with ongoing stress, we can find ourselves tense, jittery or with knots in our stomachs. Or, we may find ourselves numb, exhausted or disconnected. Think about how these different states impact how you go about your day.

Many body sensations are fight, flight or freeze reactions that your nervous system initiates. as part of an effort to protect you. But your nervous system has to steal resources away from normal functioning and repair to sustain them. If this happens a lot, over time, it can make you sick.

Your Body

To support your physical and mental health, start noticing what is happening in your body.

To shift the reaction, do the opposite. For example, if you are tense, take a moment to stretch. If you are slouched and foggy, pull your shoulders back and do some simple arithmetic in your head.

Small adjustments can have a big impact. (Think about how just standing up straight in the exercise changed your experience).

Your Thoughts

Challenge your thoughts. For example, ask yourself, “Would a trusted friend judge me as harshly as I am judging myself”? (The answer is usually “no”). Replace the destructive thought with a supportive and accurate thought. It can be helpful to write this down.

Your Feelings
Consider your feelings.

If you had to convince a judge that you had valid evidence for your feelings, would you win your case? Or, perhaps a combination of being “wired and tired” is distorting them?

Your nervous system is a platform for your thoughts, feelings and actions. The sensations in your body tell you what your nervous system is up to. Notice the sensations and shift them to a calmer state to improve your mental and physical health.

Practice:

• Notice the nervous system reactions (sensations) in your body.
• Do the opposite to shift the reactions.
• Notice how your body sensations have impacted your thinking. Challenge and replace faulty thoughts.
• Notice how your body and thoughts have impacted your feelings. Evaluate how you got there.

You can take these steps in just a few minutes. If you practice them, they will go a long way to improving your day and your ongoing physical and mental health.