What is the hype around the nervous system?
It feels like everyone and their cat are talking about “nervous system regulation”, and I love it. But while there’s a lot more chat about it online, I can see so many gaps in people’s understanding about what this term actually means.
As a ex-biologist who now works in the wellness industry, I am primarily interested in our current understanding of the nervous system from peer-reviewed research, and evidence-based approaches to supporting our wellbeing. While I like theories such as the Polyvagal model as a simplified way to explain different states, supportive evidence is lacking. Rest assured that all info and tools that I share will be backed up by reliable evidence.
Biology 101
Our nervous system is the link between mind and body. It’s what controls everything, or the intermediary between. It is also the reason why chronic pain can cause brain fog and mental illness (and vice versa), and why talk therapy isn’t always the solution for stress or trauma.
There are 2 main branches of the nervous system, and in contrast to common online rhetoric these are not the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
They are, in fact, the Central Nervous System (brain and spinal cord) and the Peripheral Nervous System (all nerve cells found outside the central nervous system). The Peripheral Nervous System can then be broken down into 2 further branches – the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) (controlling all unconscious functions) and the Somatic Nervous System (controls voluntary functions like moving our bodies).
The ANS is our body’s control system; a network of nerves that are always working, even when we’re asleep. It is comprised of 3 different systems
- Sympathetic nervous system
- Parasympathetic nervous system
- Enteric (gut) nervous system
You may well have heard of the first two in the context of stressed and relaxed states, and that’s what we’re going to go further into today.
(In terms of the enteric nervous system, it is essentially why the gut is seen as our second brain – a group of cells in the gut lining produces 90% of the body’s serotonin and 50% of the dopamine in our body is in our gut. That’s why our microbiome (gut bacteria) can be so influential on our mental health and vice versa).
What is “nervous system regulation”?
A regulated nervous system is one that can reduce heightened states of arousal and increases a sense of calm when going through times of distress. This is done through a cascade of physiological responses.
Our sympathetic nervous system is our body’s accelerator. It gets us mobilised and we experience dilated pupils, faster breathing, more bloodflow to our limbs etc when it is stimulated (“fight or flight”)
When the parasympathetic nervous system is stimulated we are able to relax and rest after stress. Our heart rate decreases, pupils constrict, digestion is stimulated and our breath rate slows. This is sometimes referred to as the “rest and digest” response.
A regulated nervous system is not someone who walks around feeling calm every moment of every day. Let’s take a moment to banish the fear around our sympathetic nervous system. Both states are great – it’s healthy and beneficial for both our sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems to be stimulated.
Our nervous system is designed to respond appropriately to external stressors throughout the day.
In fact, when a healthy individual breathes in, their heart rate increases slightly, stimulating their sympathetic nervous system. When they breathe out, their heart rate decreases slightly, stimulating their parasympathetic nervous system. If you’ve got a smart watch you may know already that variability within our heart rate (HRV) is a good marker of our overall health – the more easily our body is able to fluctuate between these two states, the better health of our nervous system overall.
With that in mind, we want to be able to react accordingly to stress. And we want to be able to calm down from it easily after the stressor.
Signs you might be dysregulated
Many of us end up in chronic states of nervous dysregulation, simply because of our stressful lifestyles. These stressors can range from complex trauma to having a boss who’s a jerk – our nervous systems respond to these threats just as they would to an immediate threat to our survival. The problem was, these modern day stressors last a lot longer than a close encounter with a lion.
- Hyperarousal = prolonged sympathetic stimulation.
Symptoms: hypervigilance, fear, worry, agitation, impulsive, anger, increased heart rate, panic, difficulty focusing or sitting still, emotional overwhelm, inability to sleep
- Hypoarousal = prolonged parasympathetic stimulation.
Symptoms: freeze/shutdown, depression, emptiness, disconnection, numbness, lethargy, thinking or speaking feels like you’re wading through treacle, dissociation, slow digestion, extreme procrastination
You’ll know if you’re in chronic dysregulation if you experience these hyperarousal or hypoarousal symptoms over a prolonged period of time. And the reality is, so many of us will put up with being in those states for longer than we’d like to admit.
Why this matters so much if you’re a high (or over-) achiever
If you are a high achiever or purpose-led (whatever that purpose may be), it may look from the outside like you’re very driven and self-motivated.
Under the surface, however, things may be different. You may be dealing with those symptoms of hyperarousal; maybe you worry endlessly and find it hard to delegate tasks at work or home. Fear may be in the driving seat more than you realise, meaning you’re making decisions from a place of scarcity or survival. For many of us it can feel impossible to switch off, so boundaries disintegrate and you’re stuck in this perpetual state of feeling like you’re “on” 24/7. You may experience anxiety, emotional overwhelm, insomnia etc, and could end up in burnout.
Burnout is often associated with chronic stress leading to a sustained state of high arousal, but this same chronic stress can also lead to hypoarousal as a way to cope with being constantly overstimulated and exhausted. Here you may experience lack of motivation, apathy, depression, disconnection, chronic procrastination, numbness etc.
You’ve likely heard that your body tries to warn you with a whisper, but if you ignore it that whisper will eventually become a scream. We all know that being stuck in long term dysregulation isn’t good for our health, but worrying about health when you’re already in a high stress is not the most conducive!
I want to focus on a different angle – this likely ain’t the way you want to live your life, and I bet this is not how you want to feel.
It may feel hard or even impossible to fathom a different approach to life, but I don’t think regulation is a killer of ambition. Imagine how clear your decision making will be and how committed you’ll feel once you remove the stress, overwhelm, insecurity and procrastination.
Nothing external necessarily has to change – but how you relate to it might.
Support your nervous system
I hope you loved this post; let me know your hot takeaways in the comments below.
Stay tuned for more blog posts in this series, where you’ll learn quick and accessible ways to regulate your nervous system, how to get out of freeze states and why this work matters SO much for purpose-led individuals.
