Let’s face it, most of us are over-stressed, under-sleeping, and low energy.

Why is that?

According to the 2018 Sleep in America Poll by the National Sleep Foundation, only 10% of people prioritize sleep. Yes, amazingly, only 1 out of 10 people in the United States prioritize sleep. As a nation, the majority of our population is over-worked, tired, stressed, overweight, inflamed, and down right living below their potential with their current circumstance.

Stress, sleep, and energy can either be a cycle of vitality, or a cycle spiraling destruction.

When we are chronically stressed, we sleep less and the quality of that sleep is anything but optimal. Being in a state of stress leaves the body in the Sympathetic Nervous System which will eventually take its toll. The SNS is what we call our “fight or flight” response. This is where we produce high levels of cortisol, the primary stress hormone, and adrenaline. Its purpose? To shut off every other function not pertinent to survival. In the case of being faced with a threat, we want to have all the hormones pumping to fuel us to either fight for survival, or run like hell out of there.

With the SNS activated, functions such as digestion, mental & physical repair, sexual arousal, urination, defecation, and much more associated with recovery are turned off. This is, of course, an essential function to the survival of our species.

The problem in the modern day however, is that many of these “threats” which activate the Sympathetic Nervous System are much less physical, and all too often chronic.

When we focus our gaze on something, such as a smart phone, television, computer, etc.. this too activates the SNS; producing cortisol and bits of adrenaline.

The average American day:

• Commute to work, stressed and fixated on the car ahead

• Sitting at a desk at work, stressed and staring at a computer

• Eating lunch (likely something not nourishing to our body), stressed, either working while eating or mindlessly scrolling on the smartphone

• Sitting at a desk at work, stressed and staring at a computer

• Commute home, stressed and fixated on the car ahead

• Eating dinner (likely something not nourishing to our body), stressed, while either staring at a television or mindlessly scrolling on the smartphone

• Laying in bed staring at a phone or television until passing out

• Waking up tired, rushing to work

• The cycle repeats

Now you can imagine (or know first-hand) the effects this has on us.

What we need to do is focus on turning off the Sympathetic Nervous System and activating the Parasympathetic Nervous System much more frequently. The Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS), is responsible for the “rest and digest” and “feed and breed” functions.

By activating the PNS, we are reducing stress, which in turn improves sleep, which leads to increase energy.

How can begin to activate the Parasympathetic Nervous System?

Let’s first understand how it works…

Remember our Sympathetic Nervous System is there to protect us biologically. The Parasympathetic Nervous System is only activated when our body feels safe, there are no threats to our survival. Therefore, we must learn strategies for lowering stress, cultivating presence, and removing ourselves from thoughts of the past and future.

The easiest and arguably most effective method is to breathe. When we are in a state of chronic stress, we tend to breathe shallowly into our chest. By learning to breathe deeply and full, filling up our belly, our body begins to make the transition from SNS to PNS.

What you can do now:

1. BREATHE

2. Mindfulness & Meditation - there are many videos on my YouTube channel for cultivating mindfulness and guided meditations

3. Cold showers- nothing forces you to be completely and utterly present like a cold shower

4. Epsom salt bath- on the other end of the temperature spectrum

5. Journal - get that stress out of your head and onto paper

6. Reduce bright, white lights at night - our body associates light with activity. By reducing our exposure to light in the evening, we are telling our body it is time to relax.

7. Work with a coach - Rob offers Holistic Lifestyle Coaching from the comfort of your home. Relieving Stress, Improving Sleep, and Increasing Energy is at the core of the coaching. Sometimes all it takes is a little team work to get the ball rolling in the right direction of a healthier, happier, stress-free life. Learn more about working with Rob, change the relationship you have with Stress!

Interested in learning more stress relief techniques? Read Rob’s book on Amazon - Stress Control 37 Strategies to Lower your Stress

Rob Carney is a Certified Holistic Lifestyle Coach from the suburbs of Boston who focuses on 1-on-1 Coaching, group classes / workshops, and helping others improve their nutrition using the best organic superfoods from sustainable sources.