Three Boring Things That Fix Almost Everything

The brain and the body supposedly have two distinct jobs, right? The brain tells the body what to do, and the body complies. Except those times it doesn't ... like when you're playing pickleball and your brain says go after the ball and your feet somehow superglue themselves to the court 😂 (insert your own story here, we all have one).

We see a medical doctor to make sure the body's running right. We see a mental health professional to make sure the mind is on its game. It's easy to treat them like two separate tenants who just happen to share an address.

But there's a whole lot of cross-talk happening between body and brain that we never consciously clock (enter: the Autonomic Nervous System).

The Autonomic Nervous System is one of those background operators running under the radar of your awareness. It handles things like heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, breathing, temperature regulation, pupil response. We don't think about any of it until it stops working properly.

Part of that system is the up and down of your parasympathetic and sympathetic branches. Parasympathetic is rest-and-digest: your calm, settled baseline. Sympathetic is your alert system firing up. Most of us know this as "fight or flight." There are also two other responses worth a nod: freeze and fawn. That's a deeper rabbit hole for another post.

So, here's the good part. Three simple things anyone can do to help the body and brain work as a team, and spend more time in that parasympathetic summer home. They sound almost too easy, but it's crazy how much better we function, physically and mentally, once these are in place.

One: Drink water. I'm not going to pretend to be a hydration expert. Even the actual experts can't fully agree on the magic number. But drink more of it than you currently do. Dehydration of even 1-2% of body weight has been shown to measurably dent mood and concentration, and it makes your nervous system's job harder since it's already managing enough without also fighting a fluid deficit. My personal system: I know exactly how many ounces my water bottle holds, and I make sure I get through at least three of them a day (60 oz minimum for me), more if I can manage it.

Two: Get good sleep. You already know how much you personally need to function. Most experts land on 7-9 hours for adults. I'm measurably less grumpy and reactive on seven-plus. Sleep is also prime time for your parasympathetic branch to do its overnight housekeeping - clearing out metabolic waste and consolidating memories. Skimp on it and you're not just tired, you're running maintenance in the red. If you're dragging mid-day and can swing it, take a guilt-free power nap.

Three: Move your body. Bonus points if you can get outside and grab some sunlight while you're at it. Movement is one of the fastest ways to burn off built-up stress hormones and nudge your system back toward calm, so it's basically a reset button with extra steps. There are SO many ways to do this. Pick something you actually enjoy, or you likely won't keep doing it (exercise adherence research backs this up every time). Lift weights, ride a bike, walk, garden, dance, do yoga, play a sport, or revive something you loved as a kid, like hopscotch, jump rope, or pogo-sticking (not responsible for any accidents 😂). Try a new-to-you class, walk while you're on a phone call, play tag with your kids or grandkids, throw a frisbee, wander a museum, or take the stairs like you mean it. Even housework or yardwork counts, killing two birds with one stone.

Do these three things consistently and you might be surprised how much smoother your day runs. How much more pleasant you feel. How much less gets under your skin. How much better you treat the people around you, and just how much better your overall sense of well-being gets.

Now go take a sip of water.

High five! ✋ 

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