5 Quick Tips to Help Regulate Your Nervous System
We often think of our minds and bodies as separate, yet, in reality, they embody a symbiotic relationship that impacts our holistic well-being. The nervous system connects our brain to our bodies through complex nerves and signals, allowing us to coordinate motor functions and take in sensory information.
Within our autonomic nervous system, we have a sympathetic nervous system (fight-or-flight) and a parasympathetic nervous system (rest-and-digest). When I’m in fight-or-flight mode, my heart starts racing, my breath becomes shallow, and I feel restless. I usually have a hard time winding down at night if I’m in flight-or-flight mode, due to my body feeling encompassed with activated energy. While in rest-and-digest mode, I feel relaxed and can observe my surroundings with presence. These are the moments when I move around with ease and find pleasure in slowing down. Many of us get caught up in chronic sympathetic nervous system arousal, which can harm our immune system, gut function, and overall ability to relax.
Here are 5 quick and easy tools to calm the sympathetic nervous system and activate the parasympathetic nervous system when feeling dysregulated.
1. Get Chilly!
Cold water induces the mammalian diving reflex, which activates the parasympathetic nervous system and lowers your heart rate. Taking a cold shower or immersing your face in cold water for 30 seconds is enough to do the trick! Additionally, holding onto an ice cube activates the parasympathetic nervous system. This grounding tool is effective as it triggers a pain response in your brain, forcing your neurotransmitters to refocus on the pain rather than the discomforting thoughts that may induce anxiety.
2. Shake it Out!
There is a rising awareness that trauma and intense emotions get stored in the body. It’s not always enough to logically work our way through thought loops or rationalize anxiety symptoms—we often have to go to the somatic level! Dancing or shaking releases adrenaline, somatic tension, and stagnant energy from the body and nervous system. Open up your favorite playlist on Spotify as you spend a couple of minutes shaking out the body and limbs! Not only is this practice effective, fun, and cathartic, but it also increases mind-body awareness!
3. Use Your Sense of Smell
Our olfactory bulb (where we process smell) has direct connections to the hippocampus (where we process memory) and the amygdala (where we process emotion). Have you ever smelled something and immediately got transported to an old memory? I love using scent to regulate my nervous system, as our brains are designed for this practice to take effect immediately. If you have any smells that you currently associate with calm states (lavender essential oil, chamomile tea, etc.), have them accessible to you and utilize them as often as possible to associate the smells with a calm state. You can use essential oils, tea bags, diffusers, candles… the list goes on! I LOVE bringing lavender essential oil with me everywhere I go. When I’m anxious, I place a few drops on my palms, rub them together to create heat, and then cover my face with my palms as I take a deep breath.
4. Breathe in the Air
Breathwork is highly effective in activating the parasympathetic nervous system, but if you’re in a highly activated state of sympathetic nervous system arousal, slow, deep breaths are the way to go to prevent hyperventilating and exacerbating the stress response! Diaphragmatic breathing is a deep and slow form of breathwork in which the diaphragm contracts with each inhale and relaxes with each exhale.
Place your left hand on your heart, your right on your abdomen, and gently close your eyes as you engage in 3 deep belly breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth.
5. Offer Yourself Supportive Touch
Touch is a powerful tool to activate the parasympathetic nervous system and allow us to feel safe. Additionally, physical touch releases oxytocin (the love hormone!), which can aid in self-soothing and lowering the heart rate. Some of my favorite tools include cradling your face in your hands and giving yourself an embracing hug.
I utilize all the tips above on a regular (if not daily) basis, as they are so accessible and effective. To bolster nervous system regulation, it can be helpful to work with a therapist to understand your nervous system better and continue to fill up your suitcase of tools to carry around with you as you navigate this world.
If you are feeling ready to regulate your nervous system, schedule a free consultation call today with our Client Care Coordinator. We know how hard it can be to ask for help. We will provide a supportive space for you, whenever you are ready.
With gratitude,
Atalie Abramovici, AMFT
