simple ways to reduce stress
Here I am practicing yoga outside with my favorite little human (this is when he was less than a year old ☺️).
Here are a few simple ways to reduce stress by turning on your parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS).
Our autonomic nervous system consists of two main branches: the sympathetic and parasympathetic. The parasympathetic nervous system controls homeostasis, and promotes rest, repair, digestion, and relaxation. The sympathetic nervous system responds to a perceived threat, also known as stress. Stress works for us when we are trying to get out of danger (think fight or flight). It works against us when we’re experiencing chronic stress. Chronic stress impacts our mood, impairs digestion, weakens our immune system, and interferes with our ability to sleep, among other things.
Promoting parasympathetic nervous system function gently encourages the body’s innate ability to heal, calm, and soothe. Doing so can be especially helpful when we’re overwhelmed, grieving, experiencing intense emotions, having difficulty sleeping, struggling to turn off our “monkey mind”, etc.
Ways to turn on the parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS) as an antidote to stress.
Breathwork. Breathing deeply, slowly, and mindfully, with a steady inhalation to exhalation, signals our PSNS to calm our bodies. Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Practice this for at least 1-5 minutes.
Hum or sing. This activates the vagus nerve, which is the longest nerve in your body. It runs from your brain through your face and thorax to your abdomen. Humming and singing stimulate vagal tone. Same goes for chewing, laughing, and smiling. The vagus nerve is responsible for the regulation of internal organ functions, such as digestion, heart rate, and respiratory rate, as well as vasomotor activity, and certain reflex actions. It also activates the PSNS, which helps you relax. So hum or sing your heart out.
Practice mindfulness. Connect with and notice the sensations in your body (how your clothes feel on your skin, how your body feels in your chair, how it feels when the sunshine warms you up, etc.). Bringing your attention to these sensations helps to bring a sense of calm and presence. This is great to do in the car when you’re driving, when you’re walking, or when you are falling asleep.
Go for a walk outside. Being outside, in nature while you walk leaves so much room for connection with yourself and the natural world. Meditate as you walk, listen to birds chirp, or listen to music that ignites a warmth in your soul.
Drink a cup of hot tea. Look for tea that contains nervines such as lemon balm, Scutellaria lateriflora (a.k.a. skullcap), and chamomile. Nervines are calming herbs that nourish and strengthen the nervous-adrenal system and recruit your PSNS to calm and soothe.
Incorporate calming & balancing adaptogens. Calming adaptogens, such as holy basil and gotu kola, help relieve anxiety. Balancing adaptogens, like ashwagandha and schizandra, provide stress support - they have the unique ability to simultaneously calm and energize. You can find these in tea, golden milk, or tinctures. Calming and balancing adaptogens help your body to switch from sympathetic to parasympathetic nervous system response. They offer a stress protective effect through the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the regulation of key mediators of the stress response.
Meditate. Meditation improves cognition, reduces stress, it may even reduce cardiovascular risk, and you guessed it…it helps turn on the PSNS, which calms the body and mind. Meditation doesn’t look the same for everyone. It can be as simple as breathing mindfully for a minute. Or, you can practice guided meditation, a moving meditation (walking, yoga, swimming, hiking), or attend a transcendental meditation class.
Move daily in ways that you enjoy! Dance, walk, or get into some yoga, pilates, or strength training. The point is that you feel good when you do it and you make time for it consistently. Moving daily reduces stress, improves overall mood and outlook, and incentivizes you to come back for more. The more you move, the more you WANT to move!
Practice yoga. Yoga is so incredibly powerful. It deserves its own bullet point here. Not only has yoga been shown to reverse and/or delay the signs of aging, it also promotes mental, physical and reproductive health.
A few other things you can do…
Take a warm bath.
Snuggle with your companion animal(s).
Write a love note to yourself (recite a Mantra). Check out my recent post on this.
Loads of love,
