Men’s Health: Don’t Be Nervous About Your Nervous System by Keith Bridger, RMT
Hey, man, June is Men’s Health Month. We often focus on things like fitness and exercise, nutrition, cardiovascular health and injuries when we think of health. However, there is another aspect of health that is often neglected, and that involves the Nervous System, specifically the Autonomic Nervous System.
The Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) has two parts to it. The Sympathetic Nervous System, often referred to as the fight or flight system, and the Parasympathetic Nervous system, also known as the rest and digest system. The ANS is always working to regulate our bodies from waking up in the morning to going to bed at night, and even when we are sleeping. It affects our breathing and circulation, our digestion, our ability to relax, or respond actively to external stressors. Our overall health depends on both aspects of the ANS to be working in balance. For a lot of us, though, responding to various stressors in our life means the Sympathetic system is working more than the Parasympathetic. This imbalance can lead to health issues.
Stress Doesn’t Just Live in Your Mind
We all have a lot to deal with in our lives. There are work pressures, financial responsibilities, family obligations, aging parents, child care responsibilities, and relationship challenges. Of course, this is far from an exhaustive list! On top of that, men often don’t take the time to stop and reset. We put pressure on ourselves to “man up”, go it alone. Don’t complain, just keep on givin'er. Over time, this can lead to a Sympathetic imbalance in the ANS, which even makes it harder to recover from our stressors. This can lead to many symptoms that people feel in their bodies, such as:
• Tight neck and shoulder muscles
• Headaches
• Jaw clenching
• Low back pain
• Poor sleep
• Difficulty focusing
• Irritability
• Fatigue that doesn’t improve with rest (feeling wired and tired)
Support the Body and Balance the Nervous System.
At Oma we know that physical symptoms don’t exist in isolation. A sore back can be caused by postural strain, or by work stress, or both. On top of that, dealing with aches and pains can be stressful, too. If you have been dealing with tension, aches and pains it is important to consider not just your muscles and joints, but also the ANS.
At Oma, there are different options to address both physical and ANS symptoms. Massage therapy, chiropractic care, osteopathy, physiotherapy can not only relieve muscle tension postural stressors, but also engage the Parasympathetic Nervous System to help you rest and digest. Naturopathy can help you to find ways to nourish and support your body without having to rely on coffee and alcohol. Psychotherapy can give you ways to manage stress and break out of habitual but unhelpful patterns. Our goal is to provide holistic treatments to provide care for your body, mind, and spirit.
This June we are asking that you think about all aspects of your health. Come in to rebalance yourself. Just half an hour can help, it doesn’t need to be a big commitment. Balancing your body and your nervous system can help you recover from daily stressors, and leave you ready to face the next one that comes up.