Stress is an unavoidable part of our lives. It is intensified by the fact that most of us aren’t getting enough sleep, resorting to a quick, liquid lunch at the office, or grabbing a drive-through dinner on the way home. A sprinkling of these behaviors isn’t going to have a detrimental effect, however, our nervous system responds differently when these actions become habits. Studies have shown when these behaviors continue day after day and year after year, they can lead to anxiety, depression, and other difficulties in mental health. In order to better understand the stress we put on our bodies, we need to dig deeper and see how our nervous system responds.
The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for controlling our fight-or-flight response. It is an involuntary response, and is automatically triggered when our body is in a dangerous or stressful situation. Our body reacts the same way whether we experience a sudden emergency, or when we receive an unexpected bill. When our bodies stay in a constant state of fight-or-flight, it inhibits recovery, relaxation, and the potential benefits of physical training.
In contrast, our parasympathetic nervous system is in control of our rest and recovery phase. When we are in this state, our body does a much better job of digesting, absorbing nutrients, burning calories, healing muscle damage, and so much more. However, it’s not good for us to remain in this state all the time either. One of the objectives of physical training is to put healthy stress on your muscles and organs. The key to optimal rest and recovery is transitioning back to this state, after the stimulus of stressors.
Breathing should be our first response when we recognize that we are in that stressful state. Breathing is a beautiful symphony of muscle contractions that involve the muscles of your neck, chest, back, scapula, abdominals, and most importantly the diaphragm. The beautiful part is that we do all this autonomously, or independent of external stimulation. Imagine if you did have to think about all of that, working together just right, every time you took a breath. One breathing drill that you can practice, in these moments of stress, is called diaphragmatic breathing. You’ll begin by laying down with your back on the floor. (If you can’t get on the floor, lay on a bed or couch.) Put one hand on the small of your back, where the spine curves inward, and the other hand on your stomach. Breathe in through your nose, and out through your mouth. As you breathe out, try to expand your stomach into your hand. It should look like you just ate a whole pizza. Then, press the small of your back into your other hand. This will expand your abdominals 360 degrees. After about 10-15 deep breaths, you should feel a little more relaxed.
When you recognize stresses, try responding with a breathing drill to get back into the state of rest and recovery. This small change can help you achieve positive results that will carry over into your physical training sessions, as well other areas of our lives.
Reference
Franklin, E. N. (2019). Breathing for peak performance: Functional exercises for dance, yoga, and Pilates. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
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