How to Activate Parasympathetic Nervous System:

When PSNS is activated, our heart and breathing rate slows, blood pressure decreases and digestion promotes. Our body enters a state of relaxation, which brings recovery. The longer we spend in a state of PSNS, the healthier we are.

PSNS is sometimes referred to as our rest and digestion mode. It forms one third of our autonomous nervous system, and is also known as the fight or flight mode (SNS) together with our enteric system, sometimes called our second brain.

Below are 10 ways to restore balance and activate your parasympathetic nervous system

Reducing Stress

For most of us, stress can seem inevitable. However, we can learn to manage our stress response by limiting or reducing any stressors we can control, and changing our reactions to those we can’t.

Meditation

Since all external stress is virtually impossible to eliminate, meditation can help to reduce our responsiveness to stress that we cannot control. Meditation teaches us how to manage triggers, lower breathing rates, decrease our heart and blood pressure: all signs of activation of PSNS. Meditation also helps to reduce our muscles’ lactic acid and promote healing.

Massage

Regular massages have demonstrated that our SNS and PSNS restore balance. Massages can help us feel stronger, calmer and more infectious. It also retrains the body, making it easier to move into PSNS.

Work with breath

Slowing your breath deliberately lets your body know that everything is all right when it activates the PSNS. Respiratory exercises will help your lungs strengthen, improve your immune system and reduce your heart rate.

Practice your PSNS with this breathing exercise: Inhale a count of four. Keep your breath for a count of four. Exhale a count of four. If you want to deepen the practise, repeat up to 10 breaths and increase to 6.

Yoga

Like meditation, your PSNS is activated by yoga. It also enhances your ability to reduce combat or flight response when exposed to stress.

Regular yoga classes or self-practice improve your breathing, strength, flexibility and overall health.

Nutrition

Good nutrition plays an important role in keeping us fit and well. Avoiding stimulants like caffeine and sugar helps to activate the PSNS. We can support PSNS by following a diet with the right mixture of protein, minerals and nutrients.

Training Intensive training stimulates our SNS. However, light cardio exercise can actually reduce the activity of SNS and trigger our PSNS. The key is to balance high intensity work with slower speeds.

Osteopathy

Osteopathy may contribute to reducing anxiety and its effect on the body. Treatment involves evaluation of the overactive nervous system of the body and its associated symptoms, such as tight muscles, headaches, digestive problems. Osteopaths treat and consider your body and mind as a whole connected.

Get sufficient sleep

For your overall health and well-being, sleep is so important. You can rest and recover your body, become fit and fit the next day while healing occurs in the deeper stages of sleep. The circulation of blood into the muscles is increased, which brings oxygen and nutrients to the cells that help them to rehabilitate.

Speech therapy

It is important to talk to someone who can help identify anxiety causes, whether family, friends, or a professional therapist. Therapists can assist in developing coping strategies to prevent anxiety that adversely affects your health.