The Biological Key to Well-Being and Optimal Performance

In this article I am going to dive into a topic we do not hear much about yet holds the key to our well-being and optimal performance.  The topic is our Autonomic Nervous System or ANS, central to our stress response system on one hand and our ability to fully engage in life on the other. 

Article At A Glance:

• The Autonomic Nervous System or ANS works around the clock to support our survival and engagement in life.
• There are two branches of our ANS.  One detects "threats" and activates our "fight or flight" response and the other supports a calm state of social engagement and optimal performance.
• Heart Rate Variability or HRV is a biomarker of ANS functioning that we can easily measure and train to decrease stress, improve mental clarity, and optimize performance.  

The Autonomic Nervous System or ANS:

Simply put, the Autonomic Nervous System or ANS is a part of our nervous system responsible for carrying out bodily functions that do not require conscious thought.  It allows you to go about your day without having to remind yourself to breath, or for your heart to beat, or to digest your food.  But it is so much more than that.  Not only does our ANS free up our mental hard ware to do all the things that make us human, it is running around the clock to keep us safe and ensure our survival so that not only do we live a long time but that we might also have children in order for our genes to survive well into the future. 

Now when I write survive, I am not just saying it in the sense that we need to breath and our heart needs to beat in order to live.  I am also meaning it in the sense that our ANS is on constant alert for threats in our environment that pose a danger for our survival.  And when we feel safe, our ANS also allows us to engage fully in life to build social connections and solve complex problems, both of which are also central to survival. 

There are two distinct branches of our ANS which include our sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and parasympathetic nervous system (PNS).  When I first came across this, I could not remember which was which to save my life (no pun intended) , so I will offer some mnemonics just in case you are like me.  But at the end of the day, if you do not remember which is which, do not worry about it.  More importantly, I’ll share what you can do to optimize the functioning of your ANS in this and other blogs, and that information matters a whole lot more than our working knowledge of human biological systems. One of this mnemonics is sympathetic = stress and parasympathetic = peace.  Another is the sympathetic nervous system is our “fight or flight” response while our parasympathetic nervous system is our “rest and digest” mode. 

The ANS is Designed to Keep Us Safe:

Our sympathetic branch kicks into gear when our nervous system detects a threat.  Our heart rate increases, our pupils dilate, and blood is shunted from our brains and digestive tract and to our arms and legs (i.e., you cannot think, and you lost your appetite).  The sympathetic nervous system does this so that you will be alert to any approaching danger and ready to mobilize at a seconds’ notice.  Let me be very clear about something though, this can and does  happen outside of our conscious awareness and typically in situations that are not “real” threats. 

In an earlier blog on the negativity bias, I gave the example of two cave people Ug and Glug.  In that article I asked you to imagine Ug and Glug walking into a dark cave when they hear an unexpected sound.  Ug, who has this negativity bias, is alarmed that it might be a sabertoothed tiger and gets the hell out of there.  Glug thinks it is all good and decides to continue into the dark cave.  Well, you can imagine what happens next.  Glug is lunch for the sabertoothed tiger while Ug lives on to spread her genes for generations to come.  Unfortunately, while our culture and technologies are advancing at an exponential rate, our biology cannot keep up and our sympathetic nervous system does not know the difference between a predator’s attack and an angry client. 

Another way to think of the differences between sympathetic and parasympathetic is that our sympathetic branch is the gas pedal for our stress response system an the parasympathetic branch is the break.  Our build in negativity bias means we are preprogramed to punch the gas on the sympathetic branch of our ANS.  So, you do not need a sabertoothed tiger charging you to set of your fight or flight response.  You probably just need a looming deadline or a full email box to do the trick.  Or just imagine yourself trying to work from home while your kid is sitting next to you distance learning.  Yeah, that feeling you just got reading those words, that is a hint of your sympathetic nervous system. 

Unfortunately, modern life has hijacked our ANS.  These days most of us are experiencing chronic stress that, without adequate levels of rest and recovery, results in an inflammatory response that leads to a myriad of mental and physical ailments.  Inflammation is associated with brain fog, anxiety, depression, obesity, diabetes, heart disease and a long list of autoimmune disorders.

Taking Back Control of Our ANS:

In contrast to the sympathetic branch of our ANS, the parasympathetic system allows us to rest and relax from the riggers of life.  Our parasympathetic system allows our heart rate to slow down, our breaths to deepen, and blood to flow to our brains, digestive system, and reproductive organs (a huge topic in of itself).  The secondary benefits of these biological shifts are that we can fully engage with others to strengthen relationships and think clearly so we can solve complex problems (i.e., think in terms of your immediate experience as well as human evolution). 

Most of the parasympathetic nervous system runs through the vagus nerve, a topic we will return to frequently in this blog.  The vagus nerve is hugely important as it regulates our heart, lungs, muscles in our throat, stomach, intestines, kidneys, gallbladder, spleen, and pancreas.  We are experiencing a rapid explosion in our understanding of the bidirectional relationship between our brain gut microbiome and the vagus nerve is central to this communication.  As a result of this bidirectional activity, it influences our digestion, nutrient absorption, and balance of gut bacteria.

For the purpose of this post, however, what is important to understand is that one of the things we can do that will have the greatest impact on our ability to show up in our lives experiencing higher levels of mental and physical awareness, and optimal performance, is to decrease the levels of stress we experience.  This means reducing sympathetic nervous system activation (i.e., releasing the gas) and increasing the strength of our parasympathetic nervous system (i.e., getting a break job).  Imbalance between these two systems leads to mental and physical disease and dysfunction while optimal balance allows us to live life fully and achieve peak levels of performance in whatever it is, we set out to do. 

Heart Rate Variability or HRV is a simple biological measure of our mental and physical wellbeing that is considered the gold standard measure of ANS functioning.  HRV is not the same as heart rate.  HRV is a measure of what is called “interbeat intervals” or the time delay (i.e., milliseconds) between successive heart beats.  The more active your vagus nerve is, the lower your heart rate and more variable your HRV is, and variability in these “inter beat intervals” is a sign of healthy ANS functioning.  In fact, low HRV is a biological signal of both mental (e.g.,., depression) and physical (e.g., heart disease) disease and dysfunction.

Amazingly, not only is HRV a reliable biological measure of our mental and physical health, but we can easily track and actively train our HRV.  One of the leaders in this space is the Institute of Hearth Math located in Boulder Creek, California.  This group, lead by Rollin McCready, has conducted decades of fascinating research on this topic and developed simple strategies for improving heart rate variability.  More recently, they have developed an inexpensive device called InnerBallance that connects to your smart phone and allows you to track and train your HRV.  I have been using it for the past couple of years myself, as well as with clients, and have observed amazing results.  I highly recommend learning more about this product at http://heartmath.com.  Even without technology, though, you can use their techniques and experience the benefits.  Here is what you can do.

• Sit in an upright, dignified position, with your feet shoulder width apart, firmly planted in the ground. 
• Allow your hands to rest on your lap, relax your shoulders, and allow the muscles in your face and jaw to soften.
• Allow your eyes to close and breath a little slower and deeper than you usually do.  Imagine you are breathing in and out of your physical heart.
• Now slow your breath down to 5 seconds for each inhalation and 5 seconds for each exhalation. 
• Slowly inhale for 5 seconds, notice the brief pause,  breath out for 5 seconds, and notice the brief pause. 
• Allow your mind to rest on the sensation of breathing, and when you notice it getting pulled away by thoughts, feelings, or physical sensations, just notice where it went and gently invite it back to the sensation of breathing.
• Continue breathing, 5 seconds in and 5 seconds out.  This rate of breathing brings your breath into “coherence” with your heart rate, optimizing vagal nerve functioning. 
• Now illicit a sense of happiness, joy, gratitude, or other heart felt emotions as this too increases vagal tome and optimizes HRV.

The invitation to you now is to engage in this practice for a minimum of 5 minutes, 3 times a day.  I would suggest picking set times during the day and paring this practice with other things that you do routinely.  For example, you can incorporate it into your morning routine, again mid-morning or at your  lunch break, and again before heading home in the evening.  I imagine you will feel an immediate shift in your mental and physical state upon starting this practice and in a few weeks will notice some subtle shifts in your functioning such as less stress, better sleep, greater focus, and improved performance.