There is a practice of mental health and hygiene, which should be done at least as regularly as brushing the teeth. In addition to being non-invasive and free of charge, a wide range of scientific research has proven the effectiveness of practicing hygiene exercises in improving human physiological and psychological health. According to a report published by Psychology Today, it is possible that you may already be practicing this practice unintentionally or unintentionally.
nervous system functions
Breathing, for example, is on the border of consciousness and subconsciousness. But now that it’s brought to your attention, you’re probably more aware of it and you may find yourself changing the flow of inhale and exhale, even though moments ago, you might not have paid attention to it, while you were still breathing.
This is because your breath is controlled by the ANS. The same system controls heart rate, blood flow, and digestion, among many other bodily functions. These systems speed up or slow down the pace while your body tries to develop internal balance. The ANS is divided into two parts, the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). When you sense danger, your SNS triggers a fight-or-flight response. In contrast, a safe and calm environment evokes the PNS in response to rest and digestion.
Most unconscious processes occur as evolutionarily driven responses with an emphasis on survival. One cannot “choose” the system, which will perform the physiological tasks, because, for example, a mere moments of hesitation in the bushes and jungles will make a person fall prey between the jaws of a tiger or a predator, whereas in our modern world, people deal with With emails instead of tigers, our sophisticated brains often imagine detailed disasters. Although only in the mind, these fantasies ‘turn on’ the same ‘fight or flight’ response, even though you cannot escape these fears.
Given that stress levels are on the rise globally, we know that SNS is likely to be turned on regularly, or at least chronically. The SNS device has a high power requirement, which results in an analogue payload. The higher the weight, the more susceptible a person is to physical and psychological diseases.
Mind-body connection
Western science has always resolved the historical division between mind and body. Fields such as PNI have developed, reflecting how “bidirectional pathways link the brain and immune system and provide the basis for neurological, endocrine, and behavioral influences on immunity,” implying that stress not only increases heart rate and dilates the pupils, but possibly Increases susceptibility to immune diseases. In practice, a person is more likely to get sick following periods of extreme stress.
But getting sick following exams or following a deadline for a big project isn’t ideal. But the most worrisome thing is when the stress is relentless, chronic stress. In the field of cardiovascular disease, chronic stress is known to contribute significantly to coronary heart disease, cancer, lung disease, accidental injury, cirrhosis and suicide. One of the signs of chronic stress is increased levels of inflammation. The purpose of the increased inflammation is a critical warning that there is a state of elevated stress, indicating that one may become more susceptible to infection. Given the two-way nature of your bodily communications, those immune warning signals then use a common molecular language to tell the human brain that the immune system has been activated. The brain interprets the signal as a warning to be alert. The body is more likely to suddenly perceive neutral stimuli as threatening (such as an ambiguous text message or email). They will become more tense, the person may experience clinical levels of anxiety, and they will transition into a depressive episode, further affecting the body’s vital physiological systems. Given that the brain has evolved to look for environmental threats, the body has also gone through a stage of development, but what is the means to treat or prevent?
Breathing benefits
As mentioned above, the process of breathing is on the boundary of consciousness and subconsciousness. So, while a person may not be able to consciously slow their heart rate or normalize their immune function, they can control their breathing. When used effectively, it can break the chain between the various behavioral, nervous, endocrine and immune processes that unfold in the body.
The process of breathing has a significant impact, as the current hypothesis regarding the mechanism of the breathing process determines that it is possible to stimulate and tone the vagus nerve through breathing. The vagus nerve is the largest nerve in the body and is the primary nerve in the PNS, which controls the body’s rest and digestion response. When ‘harmony’ (eg muscles) is ‘reached’, a person is physiologically better able to return to a relaxed state following the stimulation of the SNS system. The relaxation response has long been desired as a vital antidote to stress. The result is that the nervous system It undergoes a less variable load, providing protection from the harmful effects of chronic stress, which can be fatal.
Therapeutic breathing exercises
Interestingly, rVNS respiratory vagus nerve stimulation captures one mechanism of the broad PNI benefits associated with meditative practices, including meditation and mind-body exercises such as yoga and tai chi. But it is possible to simply affect the psycho-emotional state by changing the breathing faster or slower.
Experts advise that if a person suffers from chronic stress, he should explore diaphragmatic breathing exercises, or what is also called “abdominal breathing”, as he slowly pulls the breath into the abdomen, then releases it gently with a slightly longer exhalation, while using the nose to breathe in the inhale . Controlling your inhale and exhale can actually develop a rhythm and flow that feels healthier, both physiologically and psychologically.