Are You Carrying Hidden Stress in Your Body?

Work and life can be hard to keep up with and at times feel really stressful! 

The stress of a demanding life can end up manifesting in different ways in your body. 

The most common evidence of hidden stress in the body is shoulder tension, an uneasy or unsettled gut, or mood changes that make you not really feel like yourself. 

This is actually a good thing to be aware of because your body is intelligent and actually trying to communicate with you about what is going on in your central nervous system!

The other good news is I’ve got some advice for you – so sit up straight, relax those shoulders, and allow me to share my two best tips to regulate the stress in your nervous system.

1. Keep your nervous system in check.

Finding out if your nervous system is regulating properly is the first step to improve all the other symptoms you might be experiencing. As a chiropractor, we start every client visit with a functional nervous system test, using computerized infrared thermography. I love working with the nervous system, helping it get back to a healthy state, but not all chiropractors test the nervous system. You can also look up how to track your heart rate variability from home.

2. Regulate your breathing with breathing exercises.

A good rule of thumb is to do a 4 count breath in, hold for 4 counts, breathe out for 4 counts, and hold for 4 counts. This technique is called box breathing and it’s extremely effective for creating a regulated nervous system. 

A bonus tip is to listen to calming meditations! 

Even 3 minutes of grounding to focus on your breath and be present can help you power through the rest of your day.