The biggest impact on wellbeing…
One of the biggest contributors to digestive and hormonal imbalances - stress.
When the body detects uncertainty or danger it will go into its ‘fight or flight’ response, which changes our physiological state - we release adrenaline and cortisol, and it downregulates our digestive system and other functions in the body. Common symptoms of stress include:
- Digestive disorders - IBS, bloating, discomfort
- Weight gain
- Fatigue or dips in energy
- Disrupted sleep
- Brain fog
These symptoms in turn lead to changes in our behaviour - for example more impulsive food choices and reaching for sugary snacks or caffeine in order to boost our energy.
So when we give ourselves a hard time for craving that chocolate bar or coffee, it’s actually the body being really clever - it’s signalling that it senses uncertainty / danger and it needs energy reserves to keep it going. It is basically a hardwired mechanism for survival (our ancestors would have done the same when they came across a bush of berries in the summer - they would have devoured as many as possible as an energy reserve ahead of winter; or in case of a potential famine).
This can become a perpetual cycle, as poor food choices lead to low nutrients, blood sugar spikes and crashes, disrupted sleep and hormonal imbalances, which in turn creates further stress on the body.
So supporting our nervous system is essential for supporting our hormones and digestive system - simple ways to do this are:
- walks in nature
- breathing techniques (box breathing etc - see my blog article with different techniques and how to do them)
- eating a nutritious breakfast (with good quality protein and fat) to set you up for the day
- having time away from digital devices (which can perpetuate this hyper-alert state and keep us in our heads). The same with health tracking devices - see my thoughts about them here)
- yoga and meditation
- spending time with loved ones (or pets!)
- getting to bed before 10pm
- keeping adequately hydrated with filtered / mineral water
- getting exposure to daylight soon after waking
When working with clients, I’ll always consider the nervous system and look at ways to best support it depending on the individual’s lifestyle. Sharing tools or practices they can use to reset the nervous system can be invaluable for reducing the above symptoms and generally supporting their overall wellbeing.
If you’d like to chat through any questions you have and discuss working with me, contact me here and I can set up a 15 minute initial call.