How to know if your nervous system is healthy, and what to do if it’s not
I stumbled upon this system – the nervous system, not too many years ago when I was geeking out on neuroscience. I’m fascinated by this system, and neuroscience in general, but honestly, sometimes the stuff is over my head.
It doesn’t stop me from being curious though.
The first thing I started to learn and understand about first, is the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system. This was a game changer for me, as I started to understand how this system was playing a huge role in my own health.
Knowing that I was letting my sympathetic system- fight or flight, rule the kingdom so to speak, allowed me to know where I needed to make some changes in my own life.
So what is our Nervous System?
It’s the parts of our body that communicate with each other. We have the brain and the spinal cord which are part of the central nervous system, and the other nerves are part of our peripheral nervous system.
It controls your movements, thoughts, and automatic responses. Kinda a big deal!
Especially because disease, accidents, and other things like toxins can be damaging to your nervous system. Especially stress – keeping this guy healthy is a must!
But, we are so inundated with stress, toxins, expectations, and responsibilities that it’s often difficult to be intentional about.
The nervous system is complex, and it’s responsible for so much. And when it’s not functioning properly it can negatively impact things like:
- Memory
- Mood
- Sleep
- Healing
- Digestion
At its core, it’s a messaging system running through your body sending signals to and from your brain.
Because your nerves are messengers, when any one of them are not functioning properly, this can affect the system’s messaging. Things like rheumatoid arthritis, and diabetes are just a couple conditions that cause nerve damage.
Signs that your nervous system is healthy include:
- Body is free of tension and pain
- You’re sleeping well and feeling rested throughout the day
- Your body is free of disease
- Your stress feel manageable and under control
- You feel like there is plenty of time to get everything done
Signs you may have some dis-function in your nervous system:
- You feel tension in your neck, shoulders and/or back
- You have TMJ or clench your jaw often
- You have frequent headaches, or migraines
- You have irregular periods
- You have severe mood swings
- You have trouble breathing or relaxing
- You have sleep problems
- You have diabetes, or rheumatoid arthritis
- You have digestive issues
Any of these sound like you? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Start small. When we’re building anything, it starts with one piece at a time, and you get to decide how small or big that piece is.
You just have to start somewhere!
Ways to start to move your nervous system back into balance:
- Regular Massage. I put this one at the top because it’s my personal favorite! 🙂(what does regular mean? I suggest at least every other week.)
- Craniosacral Therapy. Another one of my favorites of course. This gentle soft tissue movement targets the nerves of the Central Nervous System which is responsible for signaling all other nerves. Allowing a trained therapist to assess your system, and then gently influence it back into balance is a great way to start.
- Balanced Whole Foods. Eat the rainbow, but not the skittles! Colorful, whole foods are key to balancing everything. We are feeding our system, and it needs to be fed well!
- Sleep. The key here is to ensure you have a solid bedtime routine, and that you are giving yourself enough sleep opportunities – meaning, you need to dedicate enough time in bed to get the sleep you want and need. Sleep is one of the only things that hasn’t changed through evolution. We simply have to have it and can’t afford to skimp!
- Hydration: Remember, we are fueling our body and our nerves, they need to be nourished and making sure that you are putting the right stuff in your body is a non-negotiable. Cheers.
- Kindness. Be kind to you, Fill your mind with kind thoughts, and as corny as it sounds, be your own best friend. Kindness towards yourself and others is often overlooked when we think about self care and balancing.
- Rest. Not to be confused with sleep. This is time that you spend simply not doing. Go lay outside in the grass and get the benefits of the sun on your face and the earth’s elements on and in your body.
- Breath. There are a ton of ways to incorporate focused breath into your life. You tube some videos and find one that feels right for you. The best thing is, it’s free and can be done in as little as 5 minutes a day.
There’s many others but these are one’s to get you started. Pick just one, and focus on it for the month, and then move on to something more after that. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
If you’re a go-getter, cut it down to two weeks, and then add something in, then you get two wins for the month!
It took time to break the body down, and it’ll take time to build it back up.
What are some other ideas you have, or things you’ve been doing? Let me know in the comments below. 😀
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/nervous-system
