“Tamp the nervous system, pay attention to it and show it love. Make it healthy and happy and improve your mental health,” says Ragnhildur Þórðardóttir, better known as Ragga Nagil, in her latest column on Facebook. There Ragga talks about the nervous system and how we can take better care of it, Ragga recommends the following:
* Detox from social media and see which profiles you follow and how viewing their content affects you. Do a general cleansing and cleanse the not-enough instilled in you, and follow those who sprinkle the soul with glitter.
*Write down five things, people, experiences that make you grateful. What was crazy today? What are you waiting for tomorrow? Gratitude releases serotonin and dopamine and is an antidote to anxiety and depression because it evokes positive emotions, reinforces positive experiences in neural pathways, and builds stronger, closer relationships. In other words, a foolproof recipe for a happier life. Research shows that those who write gratitude are more positive and satisfied with life.
*Crown clock for 20 to 60 minutes to recharge the mental and physical battery. Rest is not laziness. Rest is key to giving your brain a coffee break and reigniting your drive, creativity, and drive to execute.
* Using two screens at once is for example watching IM while scrolling Instagram on the phone, answering emails on the computer while watching the news or sitting in a boring Teams meeting on the computer while simultaneously having Netflix running on the phone. By doing this, you disrupt the dopaminergic system and increase the threshold of pleasure in doing one thing at a time. You always need more and more stimulating stimuli to experience euphoria.
*Notice how your nervous system feels when you spend time with people you feel comfortable with and compare it to the stress and excitement of being with someone who is supportive. Often we don’t realize how much interaction with unpleasant people has on our emotional life and our nervous system.
*Setting boundaries shows the courage to love yourself while opening up the possibility of disappointing others (Brené Brown). Say NO to tasks and commitments more often because your brain doesn’t have infinite working memory. Create new boundaries, revise old boundaries, and maintain boundaries that are still needed.
*Caffeine has a stimulating effect on the central nervous system so that blood vessels dilate, heart rate becomes faster, urination becomes more frequent and breathing shallower and faster. But caffeine which is in moderate amounts of around 100-200 mg per day (Examiner.com) reduces fatigue and lethargy and increases concentration. But in today’s society, where the coffee machine is Aðal’s best friend, and where Nocco, Monster, Pepsi Max, Orka and Collab are partners in the overconsumption of human beings, 400-500 mg a day has become a sad standard. And the nervous system is overloaded with increased anxiety, insomnia, brain fog.
*L-theanine is an amino acid that is the active ingredient in green tea and promotes relaxation by reducing stress and anxiety. L-theanine improves the quality of sleep because the nervous system can be cooled down, as teenagers say, but is not yet a sedative so you won’t feel like a zombie. 100-200 mg a day is enough to get a hangover (Examiner.com).
* Walking in nature releases more serotonin than walking on concrete. A study in which people saw green areas stimulated an area of the brain called the posterior cingulate, which has to do with emotions, motivations and cognitive functions. The greener the images, the more activity there is in this area and participants feel less stress.
* When the nervous system is completely out of whack, breathing becomes rapid, irregular and shallow, then the body becomes restless and afraid that there is not enough oxygen and nothing but death awaits . Nothing calms the nervous system as quickly as a slow exhale because it sends a message to the body that we are surviving. Inhale for 4 seconds and exhale for 6 seconds, focusing on filling the diaphragm, not the chest. You want to get a big belly in breathing exercises.
*Understanding how your nervous system works and functions is one of the most valuable gifts we can give to health. Listening when it rages and rages and using the methods that work to hammer it into the respiratory system. You can do this with all sorts of tools, but the key is to find what works for you,
How do you manage your nervous system?
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