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Calm the Nervous System: 4 Quick Ways

4 Quick Ways to Calm the Nervous System

Before we get into quick ways to calm the nervous system, let’s go over what the nervous system is. The nervous system is made up of the brain, spinal cord, and a complex network of nerves that affect the entire body. It is the system that sends messages back and forth between the brain and body. Very simply, the nervous system connects your mind and body. Regulating the nervous system can help reduce pain, calm the mind, and release stress from your body.

1. Here is a quick self-regulating exercise to calm the nervous system using your senses.

Name:

5 things you can see

4 things you can feel

3 things you can hear

eyes looking — Photo by Marina Vitale on Unsplash

A hand feels water to calm the nervous system — Photo by Nicholas Ng on Unsplash

hearing the sound of rain to calm the nervous system — Photo by A A on Unsplash

(Optional)

Continue by naming:

something you smell

something you taste

2. Touch

Snuggle

Snuggling with your pet or child can be comforting. Let yourself notice their breathing and yours may slow to a similar pace, as well as calm your heart rate.

Hold Hands

You can also try holding hands with a loved one.

Hug

Hugs are my favorite and quickly bring me so much comfort. I recently explained to my husband, Do you know that feeling when the bed feels so extraordinarily comfortable? That is what I feel in your arms.” I am so blessed! I refuse to accept that blessing without immense gratitude. It may sound silly, but, wrapping your arms around yourself and closing your eyes to soak it in can be very helpful too! In fact, there are many things you can do on your own using your sense of touch to calm your nervous system. Trace a finger on your skin, stroke your arms, clasp your hands, or rub your hands slowly back and forth. Tapping is another great tool that we will discuss later.

man hugging dog which regulates the nervous system — Photo by Cynthia Smith on Unsplash

3. Change Temperature

I always think of my friend and doula telling me, when you are showing signs of labor, do the opposite of what you are doing and see if anything changes. Regarding labor, the idea is that if you are having contractions, doing the opposite of what you are currently doing, such as eating something, getting up and walking around, taking a bath, etc., will either let the contractions continue or they will stop if your body is not in true labor. Along the same lines, if my mind and body are overwhelmed and on the edge of panic, I seek cold. Likely because I am hot-natured. Whether it is cold or warm, find what works for you.

Warm

A warm bubble bath might be what your body craves. While bubbles are typical for a bath, you can switch it up with Epsom salts and essential oils to help you relax.

woman relaxing in a bath — Photo by Tanner Vote on Unsplash

Cold

For me, cold usually helps snap me back into a place where my mind and body are more cohesively working together. There are many ways to accomplish this. A cold bottle of water in my hands, touching an ice pack, a cool cloth on my neck, or cold air on my skin. I will stand in the shower and switch the water to cold. If it is too intense, start slow, ease the water cooler.

Alternate Temps

You can even switch between the warm and cold water. As a kid, did you ever get in the hot tub just long enough to jump in the pool so that it made the pool feel much colder? That is the feeling, the release of endorphins. I am thankful to live in a place that gets cold enough for snow and, very much, enjoy quick barefoot walks in the snow as well. Many times I employ these methods when the need is high, other times, simply to keep my body and mind in tune.

4. Focused breathing

There are many types of breathing exercises that are very beneficial. We will discuss a variety of these later. You hear people say all the time, “Take a deep breath.” We tend to hold our breath when faced with fear, stress, or worry. It is a natural reaction. Taking a deep breath is a little more than what it sounds like. Yes, when we hold our breath, we need to replace that oxygen throughout our bodies. However, we also need to release carbon dioxide with a slow strong exhale as well.

I spent many days breathing my way through them. Of course, breathing is an involuntary action and we won’t just stop if we don’t think about it. I was stuck in a state of stress, my body was tense, and my mind was keeping a tight leash on the rise and fall of each breath. Shallow breathing only causes more tension in the body and leaves you exhausted. I will share with you the most simple form of breathing that you can remember and do anywhere to calm yourself.

Try This

This is my most used breathing technique. Start by exhaling fully. Then, take a strong deep breath in, completely filling your lungs, expanding your belly and chest fully until you can not take in any more air. Then slowly force the air out of your body from the back of your throat until you can not expel any more air. I like to count how long it takes me to fill myself with oxygen and then double that count for the slow exhale.

To go one step further with this, focus on that fresh cleansing oxygen coming in and reaching every nook and cranny in your body and mind while washing out every little bit of tension and negativity as you release it all in your slow forceful exhale. Stop right now and try it. Let me know how it makes you feel in the comments. Sometimes the exhale is blissful.

Practice these methods anytime your mind and body feel out of sync or for a quick tune-up. Let me know in the comments what works for you.

Know Your Triggers

What is a Trigger?

What is a trigger and how can you know what your triggers are? A trigger is something that triggers a response. Has a song ever affected your mood even for a little while? Pay attention to how you feel physically and mentally and when you started to feel that way. Notice what took place at that time. This will help you know your triggers. All day long every day we are affected by little things in positive and negative ways. Here we are focusing on how we can remove negative triggers as a form of self-love. Triggers tend to repeat the same response. This is why we should try to recognize and remove our negative triggers when we are able to. Below are some suggestions.

Turn Off the News

How often do you feel good after watching the news?

Photo by Amanna Avena on Unsplash

Uplifting news features are rare. You could avoid seeing and hearing so many negative and sad stories, not to mention all the ugly attacks. You might just find that you still hear about some of those good things too. Hopefully you surround yourself with people who discuss the uplifting reports. More on that below.

You Are Who Your Friends Are

Be choosy about who you surround yourself with. Negative people will bring you down. Sometimes it is not possible to completely avoid these people, however, you can limit your time with them or direct the conversations when you are around them. Do not be afraid to speak up and tell people that you wish to avoid discussing things that are triggering for you.

Unfollow Accounts

Scrolling through social media is a slippery slope. Unfollow accounts that don’t make you feel good. Learn how to create a feel-good feed here.

Stop Weighing Yourself

If you feel terrible after stepping on the scale, don’t do it!

Photo by i yunmai on Unsplash

Speak up at the doctor’s office and tell them you wish to avoid the scale unless it is necessary to prescribe medication. Learn about the Health At Every Size movement (HAES).

Eat for Health

This doesn’t mean eating “health food” but it does mean eating healthy food. What is healthy? For now, let’s just say, eat what makes your body feel good and be honest with yourself. Does that comfort food really feel good and comfortable in the end?

Limit your caffeine intake

I noticed I was having heart palpitations every night when I tried to relax. My morning coffee was to blame.

Photo by Mayur on Unsplash

For someone who loves coffee, this was a tough one at first. What I realized is that I love the taste of coffee, not the caffeine. Considering that most of my life I have enjoyed my coffee black, it truly was the taste for me. I began drinking decaf coffee but you could switch to decaffeinated tea if you prefer. If you are a pop/soda drinker you can switch to decaffeinated versions too.

Mute the Commercials

If you are someone with health anxiety, do yourself a favor and avoid all those drug advertisements. If you can’t avoid them, remind yourself that they make their money from selling you, their drug. This is fearmongering at its finest. I have been forced to choose my seat in the waiting room strategically or close my eyes to avoid educational displays in medical offices. I have also been forced to wear earbuds and listen to a relaxing playlist while waiting to manage while an educational video discussing symptoms repeated over and over which was extremely triggering for me at the time. It’s amazing the things you can believe are wrong with you simply be hearing things

Start Today

Notice when your mood changes or if physical stress symptoms begin. Think about when those changes began. Many times when the trigger comes to mind you will notice an immediate response if you are focused on it. This is how you will know your triggers. What changes will you start with? Comment below what is working for you.

Multiple Social Media Accounts

Do you have multiple social media accounts?

It might be time to create a few more.

An African American woman is looking down at the cell phone in her hands. The background is dark, black and dark grey. The woman is wearing a light grey long-sleeved shirt with a pine tree and white writing, which is hidden behind her arms, hands, and the phone. She has curly hair that nearly reaches the tops of her shoulders with her head bent looking down at the phone. Her eyes are covered by curls and a shadow. The look on her face is somber as she looks at her phone, representing mindless scrolling on social media. — Photo by Chad Madden on Unsplash

You are what you eat = You are what you consume

It is easy to find yourself mindlessly scrolling through social media. Even worse, is when you find yourself down a rabbit hole from what you have seen or read on social media. If either of these situations are common for you, it might be time to make changes.

Do you find yourself triggered by what you are seeing or reading on social media? Just like we may choose to clean up our diet, we can benefit from cleaning up our feeds.

Create and switch between another profile

If you don’t want to completely overhaul your social media feed, consider creating a second account on the same platform. To do this follow the instructions for the social platform you want to create the additional account on. Typically, clicking on your profile or picture will allow you to add a new account. You can then access your social media accounts and switch between them by clicking on the profile or profile picture again.

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/help/5637701596308695

From your main profile, click your profile photo in the top right of Facebook.
Click See all profiles.
Click Create new profile or Page.
Select Personal profile and click Next.
Click Get started and follow the instructions on screen to create your profile.

Instagram

https://help.instagram.com/589697191199472/?helpref=hc_fnav

Open the Instagram app.
Tap Profile or your profile picture in the bottom right to go to your profile.
Tap your profile name at the top right.
Tap Add Instagram account.
Tap Create new account.
Enter your new profile name, then tap Next.
Tap Continue to add the new profile to your Accounts Center
1. Note: You can choose to create a password for this new profile if you don’t want to add it to Accounts Center.
Tap Continue, then tap Yes, continue.
Tap Complete sign up.

X

https://help.x.com/en/managing-your-account/managing-multiple-x-accounts

The X help center says If you have more than one X account, it’s simple to add and access them from your X for iOS or Android app, and on desktop, mobile.X.com, X Lite, and X for Windows.

Create a Feel Good Feed

Once you create your new account, only follow profiles that are pleasant, uplifting, or inspirational. The algorithms are smart, only spend time on things you want to see more of. I promise, you will be amazed at how much better you feel when scrolling. It is hard to be mindless when your feed is full of self-care. This is a great tool to have in your pocket when you need help relaxing or a pick-me-up. There are some amazing accounts that are full of support for whatever your need may be. Find what resonates with you.