Nervous System Mastery: Movement, gut & heart instinct, plus cognitive flexibility!
I passionately believe in interconnected systems. Everyday examples of this include how the moon affects the tides on Earth; how emotions impact financial markets; how stress and trauma interact with mental and physical health; and how fossil fuels and deforestation are destroying the planet.
Remember we are full of alive electrochemical networks working tirelessly to keep us physically and psychologically safe, even if it doesn’t always seem that way. These networks make up our nervous system managing everything, such as- our dreams, our immune system, our thinking, our feeling, our memories and our vast sensing capability. It goes way beyond conscious present awareness and observational behaviour.
In a world becoming ever more polarised and hostile how can we move from what appears to often be chronic stress mode to bigger picture, positive change mode? As I have discussed previously our memory and sensory components are integral but lets look at other aspects:
Movement
We have normalised sitting for long periods for decades. TV, computers, office jobs, mobile phones and of course social media has kept us very sedentary. A cultural trend that is contributing to poor health, wellbeing and lack of creativity. Here’s how:
Research is showing us that creativity is increased by the simple act of moving the body. Regular activity can initiate structural changes which can complement working memory, attention and information processing. It can also engender mind wondering, promoting connections between thoughts and novel ideas. Fresh oxygen also allows for protein production that is good for the brain cells. Contrast that to the millions of people just sitting, only moving their fingers all day, it’s no wonder that our limited physical movement repertoire has stunted creativity and curiosity. Also there is a growing movement, who believe (like me) that perception, cognition and emotion are woven together, this entangled interaction would possibly further justify why movement is so integral.
All heart
The gut and heart exemplify this entanglement. Neurons are not only found in the gut but also in our heart. Neuroscience has shown there are approximately 40,000 neurons found in our hearts, interacting via our vagus nerve. This bidirectional highway influences attention, perception and emotion. This once again underscores how the mind and body is an integrated system, we are so much more than surface level cognition. Remember when your heart aches or races it is communicating wholeheartedly!
Dig a little deeper and we are even reminded that the heart generates an electromagnetic field that research indicates is stronger than the brain. This maybe influencing the synchronicity of physiological rhythms and emotional regulation explored briefly and very simply here via a mechanism known as ephatic coupling.
So as usual I am building a picture of human complexity something we are all managing 24/7 and this is before we add cognition into the mix.
Cognitive flexibility (or rigidity)
With the vast amount of information and multiply opinions we now have access to, cognitive flexibility is a hot topic. Some examples of cognitive flexibility include believing there are many ways to perform a task or solve a problem. Being open to consider other peoples opinions and suggestions. Feeling at peace with abstract or hypothetical concepts that do not have a single, clear answer. In contrast we also have cognitive rigidity where it can be very difficult to shift thought patterns or mental sets. Of course this can make it very challenging to adapt to an ever changing environment or new information.
Interestingly, but perhaps not surprisingly, the pioneer of political neuroscience Leor Zmigrod found people with doctrinaire views and those found on the political extremes display more cognitive rigidity. The research also highlights how there are neurobiological differences between people with moderate or extreme ideologies. It is also worth keeping in mind that for all human beings when we are under stress the rigidity becomes more acute, this makes sense because ultimately we are trying to conserve energy to survive physical or psychological threat (s). This in turn makes the need for us to collectively foster healthier, fairer and diverse societies, even greater.
As we navigate through each day try to remember how amazing the body and brain are. Try to move as much as possible. Try to take heed of gut and heart instincts. Try to notice when cognitive flexibility is available or not. Nervous system mastery is ongoing and multidimensional. Its benefits can improve resilience, creativity, curiosity, intuition, health and serendipity! Something we ALL benefit from.
Love this. It's like reading inside my brain. Thanks for writing.
I started a space to write about the system in our careers that includes work environment, competence, congruence, and the nervous system. I'm still in early stage in my writing, but If this sparks any interest, I would love a feedback from someone like you. I still have a lot to study and grow, so any pointers are deeply appreciated.