Your sympathetic nervous system is the official term for that branch of your nervous system that drives the stress-response. You know that feeling; your heart races, your legs fill up with blood, your attention narrows, and you panic.

That's your sympathetic nervous system kicking in, and there isn't much you can do to control it in the moment.

So 'stress' is a term used to explain this threat response - be it physical, emotional, chemical, or spiritual threat - the body responds and prepares you to fight, or flee 🏃🏻‍♀

When the danger passes, we return to its opposite, a parasympathetic state; this is where we rest, digest, heal and rejuvenate.

But what happens if the body is in stress all the time? Things start to fall apart.

THE IMPACT OF BEING STUCK IN THE SYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM

Using the diagram above, you should be able to get an idea of what is possible in the body, depending on which branch of the nervous system you are 'sitting' in. If you're chronically stressed, you can't be creative, generate ideas, lose weight, gain muscle, feel positive emotions, or connect to yourself. This is not good, if you're trying to life a fulfilled and healthy life!

Most of us don't realise the impact of chronic stress on both our minds and bodies, and as we live in a hyper stressful world, we don't even realise we ARE stressed. Because it's normal for us. I didn't realise it either until I experience the 'other side', the parasympathetic nervous system.

We want to be in a parasympathetic-dominant (rest and digest) state as our natural state, if we are to reach goals, be healthy, and thing clearly.

Like I said though, we WANT to be, but most people are stuck in a sympathetic (fight/flight) state, and have trouble getting out of it.

In the sense of gym and body transformation - weight loss, muscle building, consistency - managing stress is going to be the difference between you getting results, and not.

A sympathetic-dominant state has higher cortisol, does not digest food well, doesn't sleep, heal, rejuvenate well, and has trouble fostering healthy relationships. It's impossible to do these things when you're on edge all the time.

What to do?

Teach the body how to switch back, with healthy nutrition, meditation, breathing, avoiding blue-light, spending time in the sun. Incorporate healthy habits into your lifestyle long term.

I created an amazing program for this - the Nervous System Reset - it's designed to take you through the process of switching your state from sympathetic dominant, to parasympathetic dominant, so you can start conquering goals and building amazing health!

A life with less stress is a life much easier (and more fun), you can take that from me!

Jen X