The following exerts are taken from the very informative book "Exhausted to Energized" by the gorgeous & super talented
Dr Libby Weaver
"Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) dominance
The SNS is behind the fight-or-flight response, driven predominately by the stress hormone adrenaline, whereas the opposite part of the nervous system, the PNS (Parasympathetic Nervous System), acts as the rest, digest, repair & reproduce arm.
The challenge for so many people, & a major reason why they don't sleep well or feel their best, is that they are stuck in SNS dominance.
And what leads us to make adrenalin? Caffeine & our perception of pressure.
Too many people have made what they have to do each day full of pressure & urgency. And too many people have forgotten to see each day as one filled with ridiculous gifts, opportunities & a life that is so privileged because all of our basic needs are met, whereas, today, that is still not true for far too many people on the planet.
Your body doesn't understand that it is safe when you are churning out adrenalin, even if all you have done is had a few coffees & felt overwhelmed by how may emails you have. And some of you live on adrenalin & no longer even really feel stressed because you have become so used to it. It feels "normal" to you now.
If you are churning out stress hormones & they are communicating to every cell in your body that you are not safe, your body does not want you to sleep deeply, as you need to be able to wake up quickly & save your own life. Your body has your best interests at heart. You just need to communicate to it that you are safe & that it is safe to sleep deeply & restoratively.
There is no more powerful way to activate the PNS, than through the way you breathe. The rest & digest arm of the nervous system is activated in response to diaphragmatic breathing. I know it might sound too simple to make a difference, but how you breathe consistently over a day - short, sharp, shallow breaths driven by adrenalin, or long, slow, tummy-moving diaphragmatic breaths - has an impact on your nervous system, your blood chemistry, your oxygenation, & hence your energy.
Adrenaline drives those short, sharp breaths. Diaphragmatic breathing communicates safety to your body. It is the fastest way to decrease both adrenaline & cortisol. Simply investing some time each day in focusing on how you breathe can truly be game-changing.
Schedule diaphragmatic breathing. It truly is the cornerstone of calm, which is essential to restorative sleep & consistently great energy.
You can switch over to the rest & digest arm of the nervous system through how you breathe, & also by decreasing, or omitting, caffeine & beginning to identify where you perceive pressure in your life when you don't need to. These shifts will help the SNS lose its dominant position in your nervous system, which for some of you will help resolve your sleep challenges & help you wake with better energy!"
Make slow, deep breathing breathing part of your daily life by taking 3-6 YogAlign SIP Breaths with each visit to the toilet, so it becomes as natural as brushing your teeth.
