5 Effective Ways To REGULATE Your Nervous System
When we experience stress or anxiety, our nervous system can become overstimulated and overactive, this also leads to a variety of physical and emotional symptoms.
Fortunately, there are several techniques that can help calm your nervous system and reduce feelings of stress and anxiety. Here are some tips to try:
Meditation
Meditation is a practice that involves focusing your attention on a particular object, word, or phrase in order to quiet the mind and reduce stress.
A regular meditation practice can help regulate the nervous system and increase feelings of relaxation and peace.
To get started with meditation, find a quiet and comfortable place to sit, close your eyes, and focus your attention on your breath or a specific mantra or phrase.
Deep breathing
Considering we do it every day and is a key function as to what keeps us alive, breathing deserves much more credit than what most of us probably give.
Deep breathing is an effective way to activate the body's relaxation mode and calm the nervous system instantly.
Try practicing techniques such as box breathing to invite a sense of calm to your body during a state of anxiousness. Apps such as Calm offer different breathing techniques to practice, you can also find free techniques on Youtube.
Slow paced exercises
Although exercise is great for boosting and improving your mood as it releases a charge of endorphins, if your nervous system is overactive fast paced activity might be the last thing you want to do.
Slow down the pace and go for exercises that force you to focus on your breathing and slow paced movement. This might be in the form of Pilates or yoga.
Music
One of my favourite forms of medicine, is music.
Soothe your nervous system with music which calms you. Use Youtube to your advantage, I listen to a lot of old tunes that bring back great memories and for a few minutes helps me to relax as I forget the day-to-day stresses. Music isn’t a cure to nervousness but you can use it as a quick relief.
Laughter and social connection
As social creatures, we have a strong need to connect with others.
We thrive on social interactions and feel better when we have built genuine relationships whether it be romantic, friendships or with family members. But did you know that social connection can also have a positive impact on our nervous system? When we feel stressed or anxious, the nervous system goes into overdrive. However, research shows that social connection can help regulate the nervous system, reducing stress and promoting feelings of calmness.
Disclaimer: The information you find on this blog are on the basis of my personal opinion, experiences and findings, and should therefore not be substituted for professional, medical, or financial advice.
