As a chiropractor and advocate for wellness, I wish there were a National Reverse Hibernation Month in July or August! What would that look like? You would have official permission to lounge in the back yard and do nothing, just chill and be a veg and a schlub. Ready to sign my petition?
Please understand that I am not advocating “being lazy” as a life habit or art form. Your body needs activity to keep all its processes flowing at optimum capacity — and it doesn’t “just happen.”
The middle of summer is a perfect time for humans to hibernate, not during the winter. This is because you’ve spent most of the spring (if not the last year) working long hours, rushing around, playing hard, facing challenges, raising your stress levels, pushing your body to the max.
You’ve been functioning in sympathetic system mode, and now you need to rest before your transition into the hectic, active fall season.
This is how it works: Your nervous system has two parts, the sympathetic (AKA “fight-or-flight”) system and the parasympathetic (AKA “rest-and-digest”) system. They work together and always strive to be in balance in that miraculous way your body is designed to take care of you.
When you’re in the sympathetic mode, all that rushing around and stress build up cortisol, adrenaline, and other stress hormones. Your heart rate and blood pressure increase, and you may start feeling low-level symptoms like fatigue, headaches, upset stomach, insomnia. You can operate at “fight-or-flight” in the short-term, but it’s not sustainable long-term. It taxes your body and can cause all kinds of trouble later.
Enter the second part of the body-balance equation: The parasympathetic system comes into play to bring you back into balance. Summer is the perfect time to allow your body to work through its “rest-and-digest” process.
Research shows that perpetual busyness does not make us more productive. The brain needs downtime and rest “to replenish its stores of attention and motivation, encourage productivity and creativity, and is essential to both achieve our highest levels of performance and simply form stable memories in everyday life.” (Source: Scientific American)
Hmm … so time off and resting your brain make you more productive and efficient!
Not only does your brain need the downtime, but the parasympathetic system brings your heart, digestive system, and other bodily functions back to “homeostasis,” or stability. It is your body’s built-in protective mechanism to reset, if you will, so you don’t totally fall apart and, even more importantly, so you have the nerve flow that’s essential to a vibrant life.
So go ahead — be lazy, indulge in the glorious act of doing … nothing. Your September self will thank you!
If you DO sense lower energy, that you’re feeling stressed-out and can’t relax, or even that you’re getting sick (your body telling you it needs to “rest-and-digest”), visit your local chiropractor.
Chiropractic care can help you regain your body’s balance, actually moving you into the parasympathetic “rest-and-digest” mode. Plus, getting adjusted will give your immune system a boost — by up to 200%. The odds are in your favor!
Intrigued? Questions? I invite you to give Dr. Christina a call at Rivulet Chiropractic at 925.385.8353 or email us at info@rivuletchiro.com to set up a free, no-obligation consultation.