It is important to understand why nervous system balance is the key output in the pursuit of health, quality of life, and performance.
For more information about integrating the framework of complementary healthcare into clinical practice to manage metabolic syndrome, reduce chronic inflammation and chronic stress, and improve health, visit www.buoyhealthcare.com.
Dr. Darin Davidson partners with Learner+, a CME/CE reflective learning platform for healthcare providers. For the opportunity to reflect on this article and earn CME/CE credits, Launch here. Check out all past articles which are also eligible for reflections and CME/CE credits.
For downloadable, actionable strategies and tactics to leverage biology in the pursuit of health, wellbeing, and sustainable high performance, visit the resource store, Launch here. Chapters are arranged by topic so those of interest can be selected and each are also eligible for reflections and CME/CE credits through Learner+.
The past several articles have described in detail the framework of complementary health. Within this paradigm is the concept that we manage and leverage the various inputs which influence the output of interest. In addition, the overall objectives of improving health, quality of life, and performance have been discussed. As described in a recent article, while these overall objectives are what we are ultimately seeking to pursue, it is the case that we do not have full control over whether or not we are able to accomplish these goals. There are many influencing and determining factors which are outside of our control which may ultimately determine whether or not we are successful in any one or a combination of these pursuits. Examples include random occurrences of injuries or accidents, the performance of other individuals and teams, and events in nature or the immediate environment which directly impact us, but nonetheless we have no control over.
Given that the outcomes of interest are beyond our control, it is important that we establish an output that we can focus our daily activities upon which is under our control and is simultaneously strongly influential in our ability to pursue our ultimate goals of health, quality of life, and performance. This paradigm allows us to implement regular tasks and activities which are under our control and are also associated with our overall ability to pursue our ultimate objectives. As discussed in past articles, the output of interest which satisfies these criteria is nervous system balance.
Given the importance of nervous system balance as a central piece and the primary output of interest within the framework of complementary health, it is important to further describe and understand the nature of this attribute. As discussed in past articles, nervous system balance is comprised of two main components. The first is the degree of strength of our anchored and grounded states. The second is nervous system flexibility.
By emphasizing the output of interest that we can control, specifically nervous system balance, there are several benefits. Firstly, this allows our daily activities to become more actionable and related to our output of interest. This introduces higher degrees of predictability and familiarity within our daily activities. This provides strong anchoring and grounding cues to our nervous system. Secondly, this emphasis on the output that we can control limits uncertainty. Whenever we place attention and focus upon outcomes or results which are beyond our direct control, there is an inherent increased degree of uncertainty. This is on account of placing emphasis on something which we do not ultimately have control over. The result is the introduction of cues of uncertainty which can lead to shifts into protective and defensive states.
In addition to understanding the rationale underlying nervous system balance as the output of interest, it is also important to understand how this output directly relates to our overall objectives of health, quality of life, and performance. Essentially, it is important to understand how the strength of our anchored and grounded states and our degree of nervous system flexibility best position us to pursue health, quality of life, and performance.
From the perspective of health, this is multifaceted. In order to be healthy, at a minimum, we need to promote activities and biological functions which are supportive of not only avoiding chronic disease, but also promoting overall wellbeing. This is necessary in order to be active and functional to the greatest degree possible. With respect to quality of life, this directly relates to the ability we possess to limit the degree of unnecessary discomfort and distress within our lives. This is associated with increased enjoyment of what we are doing and avoidance of excessive worry, anxiousness, and overwhelm. Regarding performance, this directly relates to our ability to be at our best and present the best version of ourselves across all domains of interest.
Nervous system balance is foundational for each of these overall objectives. The degree of strength of our anchored and grounded states allows us to experience natural emergence of our best attributes across cognitive, emotional, spiritual, social, and other important domains of life. In addition, the vagus nerve activation associated with anchored and grounded states is essential in activating the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway, which is a health promoting conduit on account of reducing systemic inflammation. Vagus nerve activity also promotes improved mitochondrial function, leading to additional widespread biological benefits. Nervous system flexibility is also an essential component as it is associated with our ability to return to anchored and grounded states following the inevitable shifts into protective and defensive states. Furthermore, our degree of nervous system flexibility allows us to modulate and titrate our degree of stress response such that it is proportionate to the situations we encounter with respect to the intensity and duration of our shift towards protective and defensive states. This reduces our susceptibility to prolonged and sustained stress reactions, which leads to chronic stress.
The objective of pursuing health is strongly related to our ability to reduce chronic stress and chronic inflammation. This has a direct impact on development of metabolic derangement and, eventually, metabolic syndrome which is associated with numerous and widespread adverse health effects. Each of these objectives is directly impacted by our degree of vagus nerve activation. The stronger our anchored and grounded states may be, the greater degree of vagus nerve activation we will experience. As such, our ability to strengthen anchored and grounded states directly contributes to our overall health.
The issue of quality of life is strongly impacted by our ability to have a flexible nervous system. Across all domains of life and across each of the internal, external, and relational pathways, we will experience situations leading to shifts into protective and defensive states. This is often, but not always, associated with feelings of discomfort, distress, and even overwhelm and shutdown. Our ability to return to anchored and grounded states and titrate our stress response is significantly associated with our overall quality of life. This attribute is directly the result of a flexible nervous system.
The domain of improved performance requires access to the optimal biological state to be at our best. As described in past articles, this is a blended or hybrid state between anchored and grounded states with a degree of sympathetic nervous system activation. In essence, the optimal performance state reflects the ability to titrate and modulate our degree of sympathetic nervous system activity in response to the activities we are performing. This is directly related to nervous system flexibility. In addition, the stronger our anchored and grounded states may be, the greater likelihood we will maintain an element of these states even in the face of high demand situations, such as during performance domains. This also strongly influences our ability to maintain our biological state within the optimal performance zone. As can be seen from this discussion, our ability to enhance and optimize our performance is strongly related to both the strength of our anchored and grounded states and degree of nervous system flexibility.
The above discussion fully informs and describes how the attributes of nervous system balance are directly related to our pursuit of health, quality of life, and performance. Our ability to improve our nervous system balance is under more control than is our ability to directly pursue health, quality of life, and performance. This is the specific reason why nervous system balance is our output of interest, particularly when we are considering how we can best arrange and organize our daily activities. For the reasons described above and in past articles, it is important that we place an emphasis upon those outputs which we have the greatest degree of control over and which are also associated with our ultimate objectives of interest. This is exactly why nervous system balance is the output of interest within the framework of complementary health.
To learn more, including about biologically complementary coaching for healthcare professionals and others in high demand domains, please visit www.darindavidson.com.
For more information about integrating the framework of complementary healthcare into clinical practice to manage metabolic syndrome, reduce chronic inflammation and chronic stress, and improve health, visit www.buoyhealthcare.com.
Dr. Darin Davidson partners with Learner+, a CME/CE reflective learning platform for healthcare providers. For the opportunity to reflect on this article and earn CME/CE credits, Launch here. Check out all past articles which are also eligible for reflections and CME/CE credits.
For downloadable, actionable strategies and tactics to leverage biology in the pursuit of health, wellbeing, and sustainable high performance, visit the resource store, Launch here. Chapters are arranged by topic so those of interest can be selected and each are also eligible for reflections and CME/CE credits through Learner+.