7 STEPS TO SUPPORT ENERGY PRODUCTION AND NERVOUS SYSTEM REGULATION

Why do I need to support energy production and regulate the nervous system for Conscious Parenting?

Conscious Parenting happens when the nervous system is regulated and has a strong parasympathetic system to counteract the stressors of life. The parasympathetic system is what allows us to not get stuck in or overwhelmed by stressful situations, to move through them, and to respond to our children and others in the best possible way. Our parasympathetic system is what allows us to feel calm aliveness, presence, playfulness, compassion, confidence, and connectedness.

A strong parasympathetic system not only requires regulation of the nervous system, it also requires energy. When we run low on energy (true, ATP, biochemical energy) and are faced with a stressor, our nervous system will lack the ability to confront the stressor without it becoming overwhelming. With enough energy, we can be stressed but still have a sense of parasympathetic counterbalance, giving us an inner strength to get through the situation in a more grounded, present way.

Keep in mind that energy and regulation go hand in hand. The more regulated our system, the more energy we will have. The more energy we have, the more regulated our system can be.

Below are 7 ways to support both energy production and nervous system regulation.

1. Support Blood Sugar

Energy and blood sugar are synonymous. If our blood sugar is imbalanced and on a roller coaster of highs and lows, then our energy will be as well. When there is excess sugar in the blood due to excess carbohydrate consumption, then inflammation will be present as well, which is deregulating for the nervous system. An inflammed nervous system cannot be properly regulated. Some signs our blood sugar is imbalanced can include:

• “Crashing” after meals, suddenly feeling tired after them, extreme fatigue

• Sugar cravings

• Brain fog

• Mood swings

Let's keep in mind that food is supposed make us feel better, not worse. If we feel more tired or worse in any way after eating, instead of the food giving us energy and making us feel better, then something about our food is not nourishing us.

2. Limit or Eliminate Caffeine

When caffeine is not used intentionally and is instead an everyday thing we are addicted to, it becomes something we depend on for energy instead of our own strong, healthy supply of innate energy. Additionally, when the body is used to consuming caffeine and does not get its supply, the nervous system gets impacted with headaches.

3. Support Sleep

Enough sleep allows us to wake up with the energy to face the day with whatever might happen in it. Our brain’s lymphatic system (glymphatic system) cleans itself out most effectively at night, supporting nervous system regulation. Here are some ways to support sleep:

• Make your room into a dark cave at night. Avoid as much light as possible. The darker the better.

• Watch the sun come up and down each day. Get sunlight as soon as possible after waking up. These help calibrate your circadian rhythm to help you sleep.

• Balance your blood sugar throughout the day so it does not drop at night and wake you up (often experienced as waking up to “go to the bathroom”. Often, it is not your bladder waking you up but your blood sugar; your bladder is just the first thing you notice).

• Try falling asleep with a hand on your tummy and a hand on your heart. This is regulating to the vagus nerve, a key player in nervous system regulation.

• If you are struggling to sleep or if you use technology before bed, consider purchasing blue light blocking amber glasses. They are affordable and found online. They help block blue light that may negatively affect our circadian rhythm. You can wear them before bed or when using technology.

• Exercise after waking up to be in line with and encourage natural peak adrenaline patterns.

Remember the nervous system is the system in charge of our sleep. The more regulation we can build into our nervous system, the better our sleep will be.

4. Add Movement and Exercise

Movement and exercise are one of the best things we can do to support our nervous system and energy levels. Exercise boosts feel good hormones in the brain, helps clear stress hormones from the body, supports brain growth in areas that impact emotional regulation, tones the vagus nerve (the nerve involved in our stress and parasympathetic states), and increases energy production in the body through increased ATP-producing mitochondria cells and oxygen and blood flow.

Like everything else, exercise should be balanced. Too much of a good thing is a bad thing. Build up gradually. If you struggle with your energy, too much exercise can be counterproductive as exercise is a stressor to the body. When done appropriately, it is a positive stressor. Additionally, don't use all your energy on an exercise session. Exercise, like food, should feel good during and afterwards. Exercise should give you more energy, not take it away. You may need to start with movement before you start with exercise.

5. Respect the Startle Response

When we are startled by a noise or anything sudden, even subtly, the nervous system is shifting into a stress state. The startle response is a very basic response designed for our survival that gives us the sudden energy to act quickly. This applies to being startled by a lion in the bushes just as much as it does to a pencil dropping. It is all the same response.

Not respecting the startle response will create a build up of stress energy in the system that drains our energy and is dysregulating to the nervous system. When the nervous system goes into a startle response, it naturally wants to and needs to orient to the threat: to look at it, track it, and assess it. If it determines the startle was a lion in the bushes, it responds with increased stress to fight or flight. If it determines it was a pencil dropping, it responds by dismissing the threat and going back to what it was doing. This happens in a matter of seconds. It cannot complete this process if we do not orient to the threat.

If we hear a pencil drop or are startled by the feeling of something possibly behind us while and we don't look to verify if it's something we should be worried about or not, then we block this response. Even if we know it was just a pencil dropping, or that there's nothing behind us, if the system was startled, then the system needs verification with our senses. That means turning towards the stimulus and assessing it with our primary sense (for most of us, sight).

6. Practice Orienting

Similar to the startle response, when our nervous system looks around, it is able to assess whether it is in a stressful situation or a safe situation. Our child crying might be stressful, and the nervous system fixates (stares) at threats, at things that are stressful (even when we are stressed it can just stare in a fixated way at what we are doing right in front of us, like chopping vegetables--that happens to me!).

Taking a moment to stop and simplly look around and orient to our surroundings helps break that cycle. It helps us notice the larger context of what is happening. For example, even though the child is crying, everything else about my surroundings is okay and safe. Or while I am chopping vegetables, if I stop and look around, I can see that I don't need to be stressed, everything around me is actually okay. This can decrease dysregulation in the nervous system and prevent our energy from being used in a stress state unnecessarily.

7. Notice Unacknowledged Drained-Energy Part

It has become increasingly clear to me in doing this work that what we perceive to be a lack of energy may actually just be a part of us that feels drained. We all have parts that feel all sorts of ways. For example, a part that wants to lose weight and another part that can't stop eating. A part that hates meal planning and another part that feels invigorated to try new recipes. Likewise, we may have a part that loves spending time with our families and another part that feels burdened, like it has everything on its shoulders and feels unsupported and overstimulated.

Our parts live in our nervous system and, since the nervous system is a full body system, can affect our entire body. What we perceive as a lack of energy may really be a part that feels very unenergized and unsupported that is present very often. When this part yields to another part that is happy about something else, we may no longer feel at that moment like we have no energy. Then, suddenly, when the unenergized part comes back, we feel like our energy is a problem again.

In fact, the problem may not be our energy, it may be whatever problem our part is carrying. We can begin by simply noticing this part when it is present and being open and curious about it. Problems carried by our parts often need one-on-one work to release the part of its burden. When we do so, we unblock natural energy that was underneath and bring greater regulation to the nervous system overall.

By the time we are adults there are a lot of factors that may have built up that can be negatively affecting our energy levels and the ability of our nervous system to stay regulated. The good news is we can always take positive steps towards better energy and more regulation. The important part is that we take a step forward, we begin where we can, and then we take the next step forward when we are ready.

The Promise of Parenting’s mission is to help everyday moms build their capacity for Conscious Parenting by regulating the nervous system using processing techniques, attachment repatterning, and holistic nutrition.

The above information is for educational purposes only and not intended for diagnosing or treating any condition or replacing a medical professional.