Tough morning today- struggling with anxiety since I woke up. Wondering if it has anything to do with the junk food and beer I consumed during the Superbowl? Or maybe it is remnants of the stress I felt during the last 3 minutes of Superbowl LI.
When we have a stressor , real or imagined, the stress hormones release – cortisol and adrenalin. Our body transitions to fight-or-flight mode. We have no control over it.
We all know that, right? Last night’s Superbowl was a great example. We watched current day warriors battle it out – fighting instead of flighting. Is that a word, flighting? Their bodies producing stress hormones that carried them into battle. Their physical exertion fueled by adrenalin.
For the fans is was so Superbowl, the first half was so one sided. The second half was anything but usual. The Pats returned from halftime pumped. They turned the game around, and it all came down to the last 3 minutes. The stress of the last 3 minutes was overpowering. No matter who you were cheering for your sympathetic nervous system was spewing adrenalin, activating your vagus nerve to message your internal organs that you were ready for battle.
Instead of going into battle you may have fidgeted, walked around the room, or just sat there biting your nails. This may or may not have stimulated your parasympathetic nervous system to secrete calming hormones.
We weren’t even there yet we activated our stress response though a perceived threat. Let me say that again, a perceived threat. How many times a day are we bombarded with perceived threats? We could be watching an action movie & bam – stress response. We could be following the current political scene & bam – stress response. We could be thinking about our dying loved one & bam – stress response.
How do we counteract the stress response to everyday perceived threats? For me the simplest is belly breathing. When you take a deep breath and expand your diaphragm, it stimulates your vagus system. You instantly turn on your parasympathetic nervous system, cortisol (the stress hormone) levels drop, and your body relaxes.
So if you haven’t tried it – take a minutes, follow Dr Neha‘s video, and try it now. You may be surprised with the results!
Bitterroot Nutrition 