For the longest time, I believed that health was doing more work. More supplements, more laboratory tests, more exercise and more daily life. I have kept a spreadsheet and a detailed list of checks for everything I want to do for my health. I just found the right combination and finally it was amazing if it had been hard for a long time.
But actually changing everything for me was not another protocol. It was a simple mental reconstruction to change how health, healing, and how they generally think about life. It was an idea that focused on sending safety signals to my body instead of force to submit a safety signal.
This change in the way of thinking has changed how I eat, move, rest, and think. It helped to move to a state where healing is actually possible at a place of chronic low -level stress. It feels like you are like me, but you can’t point out why, and keep reading!
Understanding the nervous system
First, let’s look at the nervous system. Our nervous system works in two main modes: sympathy and parasympathetic. The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for fighting, flight or freezing. Our bodies activate this reaction when detecting danger or threats. On the other hand, the parasympathetic system is responsible for rest, digestion and healing.
Thanks to modern life, many of us are trapped in most of our lives in sympathy. Even if we are not mentally stressed, our bodies will still be receiving a signal that we are not safe.
I spent more than 10 years in that place. I didn’t understand that I was holding me on my constant work, even “healthy”, and I still didn’t feel safe enough to switch to healing mode. This is where the concept of safety signal to stress signal appears.
What is safety and stress signals?
The stress signal is to keep our body warnings. These can be clear mental stress, such as debate or deadline, but it can be more subtle. Overeating, over -exercise, poor sleep, loneliness, negative self -conversation or exposure to blue light at night sends a stress signal to the nervous system.
Safety signals, on the other hand, are signals that say that rest and repair are fine. This includes nutritious foods, deep sleep, human connections, sign language, sunlight, soft movements and friendly self -conversations.
If you focus on sending more safety signals, the nervous system can finally relax. And once, many things begin to improve, such as our energy, digestion, mood, hormones, and even weight.
Safety reconstruction through nutrition
One of the most powerful safety signals we can send to the body is through food. For a long time, I was overeating when I healed the thyroid and tried to lose weight at the same time. I didn’t think of it as a stress because I didn’t skip the meal, but I didn’t eat enough what I needed.
If we don’t eat enough, our bodies are not enough food. Recognize this as a threat and increase stress hormones such as cortisol. Therefore, our nervous system instead of healing and repair is to pay high attention. Overeating also stresses the body. Especially when we overeat a small number of low nutrient processed foods.
The shift happened when I started eating enough, especially when I focused on protein, micro nutrients and minerals. Before reaching caffeine, we started to prioritize the first meal of the day. I also stopped eating late at night and gave time to digest before bed.
Instead of approaching food with a way of thinking or control, I started to ask myself how to nourish my body today. The change alone has improved the energy, atmosphere and sleep.
Sleep as a safety signal
We all know that sleep is important, but we did not know how much pain was suffering from inconsistent or insufficient sleep. As a mother of quite a few children, I couldn’t always fill it up for eight hours!
Even if you skip an hour of sleep, cortisols can increase and affect blood sugar and insulin. And in relation to brain fog, some experts compared some nights of drunk one of the six hours of sleep.
In particular, if you make your sleep first with a consistent morning time and consistent morning time, there is a big difference for me. Heart rate volatility, rest heart rate and overall calm improve. This can be difficult for mom, but ideas are to prioritize sleep. For me this meant that the children did not clean the kitchen late at night after going to bed or navigate social media!
It was also helpful to create a calm sleeping environment. I changed the bedroom to sleep oasis and kept it dark and cool with noise as much as possible. I found that in the evening, I reduced blue light exposure, my body began to relax naturally and fell deeper.
Light and one cycle rhythm
I am a friend during the day while avoiding blue light at night. Natural light is one of the most powerful but overlooked tools for supporting the nervous system.
Getting sunlight in the morning helps you set up an internal clock in the body, and supports melatonin production at night to provide better sleep. In the middle of the day, sunlight increases mitochondrial health, improves nutrient absorption, and supports hormonal balance. I try to get at least 10 minutes of morning sunlight within 30 minutes after I wake up. Often the ground benefits are obtained barefoot. Then take a short walk with a weighted vest or sit in a lounge chair to absorb the afternoon.
In contrast, at night, blue light exposure is daytime, which can interfere with sleep and cause stress. I used Amber and Red Lighting in the evening and began to wear blue blocked glasses when necessary. In addition, after sunset from the lamp, it was switched using a warm light source. This lamp is on the timer, so you don’t even have to think about turning on the switch.
A simple change in light exposure gives my body a natural rhythm. In addition, the continuous background stress I did not know was reduced.
Sign language and mineral balance
Dehydration is another common but often ignored stress signal. When we are a bit dehydrated, we recognize that blood is thick, energy is reduced and the body is wrong.
But sign language is not just about drinking water. Our bodies need minerals such as magnesium, potassium and sodium to actually absorb water and use it effectively. In the morning, I often started drinking mineral water outside the sun. I also focus on maintaining moisture between meals so that it does not dilute the gastric acid necessary for digestion.
It not only helps to support the nervous system, but also finds more energy when supplying water with many minerals.
A movement to feel support
It is important to get enough water, but to get enough movement. Exercise can be a safety signal or stress signal depending on what our body needs at a given time.
When I was deeply stressed, the situation worsened due to intense exercise. My body has longed for soft movements such as walking, swimming or stretching. As the nervous system stabilized over time, I slowly introduced my strength and resistance movement. Now you will sprint on the track field.
Since my way of thinking has changed, I did not see it in another way that exercise was in my body. I aim for regular walking, mobility and physical friendship all day. There is time and place for more intense exercise, but it can be too many when you are in the nervous system overload.
Environment and emotional signals
Even if we eat well and sleep enough, the environment still signals the nervous system. Synthetic scent, harsh cleaning products, synthetic clothing and confusion can all act as subtle stress factors.
Our inner conversation is also important. Whether it’s criticism or compassion, the way we speak to yourself has a direct influence on how safe our nervous system is. I knew that “my body is attacking myself.”
When I found a negative thought, would I tell my child or my best friend? Otherwise, it did not belong to my inner world. Instead, I changed my way of thinking to say, “My body is healed.” This change helped to create more safety inside.
Connection, joy and subtle signal
Human connection is another powerful safety signal. Eye contact, laughter, touch, and existence all say we are safe and supported by our bodies.
Even small things in life are also important here to find joy and happiness. Singing, dancing, warm baths, buzzing bathtubs, stretching or sunset are all the ways to nurture the nervous system. The American nerve, which plays a big role in the vitalization of parasympathetic, responds to these small and fun behaviors.
I also started to think about how my home environment can feel. I exchanged rough lighting for soft lighting, eliminated synthetic nostalgia, and made the bedroom a cozy space that felt truly safe.
The final thought of safety signal
The most important thing I learned is that our bodies are always on our side. They are constantly trying to protect us even if they don’t feel that way. When we learn how to communicate with our bodies instead of trying to fix or force our bodies, everything goes through a better change.
If you started this road, it is better to choose a small one. Get the morning sunlight. Drink mineral -rich water. I go to bed 30 minutes ago. Eat protein -rich breakfast. I feel easy and kind to your body.
We don’t do more, but we hear more about our bodies to speak to us.
How to support the health of the nervous system? Please let me know with your opinion!
