Parasympathetic Nervous System

Has a doctor ever told you to rest? Or maybe they recommended you reduce your stress levels? Chances are, we have all been told this at one time or another. But we all know that it is healthy to exercise, to socialise and to be mentally stimulated, so why do doctors tell us to rest? The answer lies in the autonomic nervous system.

Put simply, our autonomic nervous system has two different modes. Sympathetic (fight or flight) and parasympathetic (rest and digest). When we are in the sympathetic mode of the nervous system, stress hormones such as adrenalin and cortisol spike and give the body a boost of energy to complete a task, such as fighting that sabre tooth tiger. In the modern age, stress hormones are more likely to spike when that email pings or a car cuts us up on the road. When in this state, all of our energy is directed to increase the heartrate so we can be physically and mentally alert. Once the task is complete, those stress hormones should drop back down, we enter the parasympathetic nervous system and our energy can be directed back towards vital bodily functions. Included in this is healing; our immune system gets to work when we are resting. This explains why chronic stress (a prolonged period of having elevated stress hormones) leads to physical and mental issues and why rest can be beneficial in the healing process. In the parasympathetic mode, many other vital functions take place, including digestion of food and processing thoughts and emotions. These are all vital for bodies and minds to function healthily.

For some people, rest is hard. Adrenalin and cortisol can be addictive, which is why, for some, it can feel boring to rest. However, this is likely a sign you need it more than most. Once you move through the boredom, you can reach a new level of creativity and mental clarity. Secondly, if you have experienced trauma in your life, there can be a fear that when you are in moments of quiet challenging memories will re-surface. When I teach yoga, I use many cues to help keep the mind in the body, the breath and the present moment. This is designed to support people that have experienced trauma with rest, without being drawn back into feelings or thoughts from the past. Thirdly, for many of us, life is very busy, so stopping to rest can induce anxiety that we are slowing ourselves down from completing the to-do list. I hope that teaching you, the reader, about the significance of the parasympathetic nervous system, I will help you recognise that you will ultimately complete more when you have taken a moment to rest.