Nourishing the Nervous System: Your Daily Habits
The human nervous system plays a vital role in maintaining overall health and wellbeing. As the command center of our bodies, it regulates and coordinates so many different bodily functions. As well as being involved in so many other processes and tasks in your body. However, our daily habits can significantly impact the health of our nervous system. Whether it's through alleviating stress or promoting neural regeneration, being mindful of our habits can facilitate the healing process and contribute to a nourished nervous system.
Healing the Nervous System through our Daily Habits is possible…
How Our Daily Habits Impact Healing & Our Nervous System
Our daily habits have a profound influence on the healing of the nervous system. Chronic stress, lack of sleep, poor nutrition, and sedentary lifestyles can all contribute to its deterioration.
Stress triggers the release of cortisol, a hormone that disrupts the balance of neurotransmitters, affecting mood and cognitive functions.
Insufficient sleep hinders our brain's ability to recharge and repair itself, impairing cognitive performance and increasing vulnerability to mental health issues.
An unhealthy diet lacking essential nutrients deprives our nervous system of the building blocks it needs to function optimally.
And all of these bad habits compounded over a length of time will deteriorate the health of your nervous system and its general ability to carry out daily functions and maintain the health of your body. This means that your nervous system and its responses throughout your body — from your five senses to your hormones and immune system — become a LOT more sensitised and heightened, which is why we can find ourselves more prone to light and noise sensitivies, headaches, getting sick, and much more.
Good Habits for Healing the Nervous System
The good news is there are known relaxation techniques and better habits that are easy to begin introducing into your routine and switching out for the poor habits that can help combat the negative impacts of our daily lives, promoting the healing and regeneration of the nervous system.
Regular Exercise:
Exercise promotes the production of endorphins, which regulate mood and reduce stress. Physical activity also enhances blood flow, delivering necessary oxygen and nutrients to the nervous system. And the flow of lymph which moves water through the body and helps to eliminate toxins.
You also sweat during exercise which helps your body to release the excess of stress hormones running around your system.
Engaging in activities such as walking, yoga, or aerobic exercises can aid in reducing anxiety and improving overall neural health.
Mindfulness and Meditation:
There is a huge connection between the mind and body. Using practices that help you to connect mind and body, focus on the present moment, and bring you back into your body can all help to reduce the effects of stress.
Practices such as mindfulness and meditation work to alleviate stress and promote relaxation. By focusing on the present moment and calming the mind, these techniques can help reduce cortisol levels, improve neural connections, and enhance overall wellbeing.
Better Quality Sleep:
The body does all it’s healing and repair during the time you are asleep. Getting sufficient quality sleep allows the nervous system to rest, recharge, and repair itself. A consistent sleep schedule, a calm sleep environment, and creating bedtime rituals as part of your evening routine can greatly contribute to optimal neural functioning, memory consolidation, and emotional regulation.
Balanced Nutrition:
Consuming a well-balanced diet rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants is essential for maintaining a healthy nervous system. Foods like fatty fish, nuts, whole grains, and fruits and vegetables provide vital nutrients that support neural health and repair.
You can read more about nutrition for the healing and health of your nervous system in my next post.
Stress Management:
Chronic stress poses a significant threat to the nervous system, and the number one cause of illness today. We place stress on our bodies every single day; from our jobs, to busy personal lives, over exercising, not eating properly, dealing with anxiety.
Effective stress management techniques, such as deep breathing exercises, journaling, hobbies, or seeking support from loved ones, can help reduce stress and promote emotional wellbeing by giving you other healthy avenues to release stress, process difficult situations, andbring the nervous system back into balance, as well as giving you better mental and emotional health which in turn allows you to be more resilient to dealing with stressful situations when they occur.
Our daily habits have a significant impact on the healing and wellbeing of the nervous system and will have a knock-on effect on the rest of your body too.
Embracing habits that actively promote neural health contributes not only to a well-functioning nervous system but also to improved cognitive functioning, emotional resilience, and overall quality of life.
xo Emily
