It is useful to consider the relationship of the various strategies within the perspective of complementary healthcare in the pursuit of health, wellbeing, and sustainable high performance.
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.
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Throughout this article series the importance of embodying psychological skills and body-based practices in the pursuit of health, wellbeing, and sustainable high performance has been discussed. More recently, the concept of complementary healthcare has been described. Essentially this concept relates to the overall perspective of integrating and combining the various strategies and tactics so that the overall effect is greater than the sum of the parts. Furthermore, when certain strategies and tactics are not applicable or available, the other complementary skills can be utilized in order to continue along the process of pursuing health, wellbeing, and sustainable high performance.
Within the complementary healthcare framework, the various strategies and tactics can also be organized along various levels. In order to optimally build the ability to pursue health, wellbeing, and sustainable high performance it is necessary to understand these tiers and their relationship to one another. The metaphor of constructing a large scale building can be helpful in this regard. In order for the entire structure to be stable, the foundation is of utmost importance. This paradigm applies equally to complementary healthcare.
At the foundation of complementary healthcare is the development of nervous system balance. As previously discussed, this incorporates two components. The first is strengthening our anchored and grounded states. This allows us to spend as much time as possible within these states. The beneficial and contributory attributes which naturally emerge from these states are essential for health and wellbeing, as well as the pursuit of sustainable high performance. The second element within the concept of nervous system balance is development of nervous system flexibility. This specifically relates to our ability to shift back to anchored and grounded states following the inevitable shifts into protective and defensive states which we will encounter.
The reason that nervous system balance lies at the foundation of the complementary healthcare framework is that everything else requires a stable nervous system in order to exert the contributory effects towards the process of pursuing health, wellbeing, and sustainable high performance. The additional levels will be discussed over the remainder of this article, however, it is important to note that the utility and benefit of these various strategies and tactics will ultimately be limited by the degree of nervous system balance we are able to exert.
It is also important to recognize that our overall ability to demonstrate nervous system balance is dependent upon the situations and scenarios we experience. In situations in which there are cues of uncertainty, risk, and threat our degree of nervous system balance may be somewhat reduced. This further emphasizes the importance of developing the skills, strategies, and tactics to optimize nervous system balance. This makes it less likely that we will shift into protective and defensive states when we encounter these scenarios and experience these inevitable shifts, we are better able to shift back towards anchored and grounded states.
The second level of strategies and tactics within the framework of complementary healthcare relate to physical activity, sleep, and avoiding pro-inflammatory foods and diets. These can be thought of as lifestyle factors. Each of these elements is important in promoting our overall health and wellbeing. Ultimately these strategies exert their impact through reducing chronic stress, decreasing chronic inflammation, and improving overall cellular health, in particular mitochondrial function. Further details regarding each of these elements has been discussed in past articles and will also be revisited in upcoming articles. It should be noted that the degree to which these factors can promote the beneficial outputs is largely influenced by the underlying foundation of nervous system balance. If our nervous system is frequently stuck in protective and defensive states, there will be greater degrees of chronic inflammation, chronic stress, and reduced cellular health, in particular mitochondrial function, irrespective of the degree to which we may have developed these lifestyle factors.
One important component to further consider is that of sleep hygiene. It is well known that sleep is an essential element if we are to pursue health, wellbeing, and sustainable high performance. There are many recommendations to optimize sleep, which are generally referred to as sleep hygiene. This includes limiting caffeine and alcohol intake, timing physical activity and exercise according to when we are attempting to sleep, and optimizing our sleep environment. It is important to emphasize, however, that while these are important strategies and tactics, the overall benefit is strongly influenced by whether or not we are in anchored and grounded states when we go to sleep. If we have shifted into protective and defensive states, there is less likelihood that these strategies and tactics will provide benefit in optimizing sleep. This further reflects the understanding that at the foundation of all of these strategies and tactics is a balanced nervous system.
The third level for consideration within the complementary healthcare framework is that which includes adjuvants, including medications, supplements, and technological devices. In some circumstances, adjuvants are essential, such as medications to treat illness. However, the use of supplements and technological devices, as well as other adjuvants, are also contributory to the overall pursuit of health, wellbeing, and sustainable high performance in a manner which is dependent upon our underlying degree of nervous system balance.
It is important to note that at times the strategies and tactics within the second and third levels may need to be utilized prior to optimally achieving nervous system balance. In fact, many of these factors can contribute towards the process of improving nervous system balance. For example, the use of technological devices to assist with vagus nerve stimulation and increasing vagus nerve activity can be an important contributor towards developing nervous system balance. This reflects the importance of the complementary nature of this framework.
It is also informative to consider that the typical practice of longevity medicine incorporates strategies which typically focus on the second and third levels. There is less emphasis placed on developing the stable and strong foundation provided by nervous system balance. This ultimately becomes a limiting factor in the overall efficacy of the longevity medicine strategies.
The importance of considering the three levels discussed above within the framework of complementary healthcare relates back to the effectiveness of the strategies in each level being dependent and strongly influenced upon the strength of the levels below. This follows the metaphor described above of building a large scale structure. As noted above, supplements and adjuvants as well as technological devices, can contribute towards the pursuit of health, wellbeing, and sustainable high performance, but will be of limited benefit if there isn’t underlying nervous system balance. Also, as described above, the strategies and tactics within the category of sleep hygiene are of limited use when there is not underlying nervous system balance. When our biology is stuck in protective and defensive states, sleep will be challenging in its quantity and quality irrespective of the utilization of sleep hygiene strategies.
It is also useful to consider that it is possible and at times essential that skills, strategies, and tactics are developed across multiple levels concurrently. This may be necessary, for example in using adjuvants and technological devices to assist with developing nervous system balance. For some individuals, a specific focus on psychological skills may not be possible until a degree of nervous system balance is achieved through the use of other means, such as technological devices, in particular peripheral vibratory devices to stimulate vagus nerve activity. The overall goal, however, must be to achieve stability across the foundational levels and second level strategies over time. While adjuvants and technological devices may be highly beneficial at some points in time, the overall durability and sustainability of our practices is dependent upon the strength of our foundation, specifically nervous system balance.
By considering and implementing the above framework, an overall strategy to the development of complementary healthcare becomes apparent. While various strategies and tactics may be utilized at differing times, the overall paradigm is to establish as strong a foundation as possible and then layer on additional skills, strategies, and tactics to further promote our pursuit of health, wellbeing, and sustainable high performance.
To learn more, including about biologically complementary coaching for healthcare professionals and others in high demand domains, please visit www.darindavidson.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+.