Signs of a healthy nervous system
What is the nervous system?
The nervous system is one interconnected system within the body. Often times it is broken down into segments like the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system. From there, further segmentation is created to decipher between embryonic origins, location, and function. The sympathetic nervous system is often discussed in the context of “fight or flight.” The opposite is true of the parasympathetic nervous system being discussed as “rest and digest / feed and breed.” Keep in mind there are other segments of the nervous system, such as our somatic nervous system, our brain, and our spinal cord.
The nervous system controls the function of every cell, gland, tissue, organ, and muscle in the body. The function of which all happens automatically without our direct conscious input. It truly is marvelous how the nervous system is able to coordinate each and every cell every second.
The impact of nervous system health
The human body does not make mistakes. It simply responds to its environment, both internally and externally. When the nervous system is in a state of dysfunction there is often symptoms associated with this. These symptoms can manifest in many ways and can be due to many causes. An example being a slip or fall, an underlying infection, or general symptoms like feeling achy, tired, and depressed.
Other signs of a dysregulated nervous system include feeling light headed when bending over, an increased heart rate at inappropriate times, inability to fall asleep or stay asleep, heightened sensation of pain, ringing in the ear, lack of coordination, and even memory deficits.
Quantifying the nervous system
Understanding the health of the nervous system can be complex. There are many ways to attempt to measure the output, or the health, of the nervous system. There are options like MRI scans, blood work, electromyography, EEG, and others. In any instance, being able to measure the function of the nervous system is important when it comes to treating dysfunction and rehabilitation. In the office, we quantify the health of your nervous system by measuring pupillary light response, motor command tasks, and proprioceptive tasks. We perform functional assessments to understand muscle patterns, review blood work and hormone saliva tests. We find that measuring the basic vitals like heart rate, respiration rate, blood pressure, and pupillary light response regularly allow us to to better understand the day to day function of your nervous system.
Improve the health of your nervous system
There are general techniques and guidelines to improve the health of your nervous system. These are not meant to act as medical advice and you should seek information from your attending doctor. The ability to conduct proper breathing mechanics using your diaphragm is essential to adequate oxygen delivery. Not only this, but there are other musculoskeletal effects that come from breathing from your belly, and not your shoulders and chest, that have many down stream effects. Practicing meditation and gratitude. Slowing down your day intentionally. This means cooking meals at home, not being in a rush when completing a task, being mindful to be present.
Finding ways to enjoy activities you “force” yourself do. For instance, working out and exercising. Maybe joining the toughest gym with the toughest workouts isn’t the best idea. Maybe the best idea is to buy a set of dumbbells or kettle bells and find ways to move that you enjoy in the comfort of your home. Removing the friction to create consistent healthy habits is half of the battle.
Spending time in nature and with your bare feet in the grass. Simply being in nature amongst trees has been shown to have a calming effect and reduce blood pressure and heart rate and improve overall health. Add this walk a brisk walk and doing it with someone you love or enjoy spending time with and you have found one of nature’s best cures.
Book with SCC Neuro
If you are finding yourself looking for a doctor that treats your nervous system first above all else, schedule your new patient consultation with SCC neuro today at sccneuro.janeapp.com