{"id":3516,"date":"2025-04-06T09:59:16","date_gmt":"2025-04-06T09:59:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/3516\/"},"modified":"2025-04-06T09:59:16","modified_gmt":"2025-04-06T09:59:16","slug":"the-best-position-to-calm-your-nervous-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/3516\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Position To Calm Your Nervous System"},"content":{"rendered":"

I reckon I have the following in common with most people; I\u2019m always stressed, and I can never sleep<\/a>. <\/p>\n

So it\u2019s a good thing Dr Seeta Shah<\/a> from PANDA London has shared the best lying position to assume when you\u2019re trying to calm your nervous system<\/a>, right?<\/p>\n

Speaking to HuffPost UK, the doctor said that little unconscious moves we don\u2019t even realise we\u2019re making can \u201cactivate areas of the nervous system that play an instrumental role in promoting relaxation, reducing stress, and increasing the likelihood of a good night\u2019s sleep.\u201d <\/p>\n

That includes a simple adjustment to lying down, she added. <\/p>\n

Lying on your side with your arm in the air may help you to de-stress<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ever notice your bicep touching your ear when you\u2019re lying on the sofa?<\/p>\n

Dr Shah says this is an example of \u201ceveryday habits that you believe are unique to you\u201d but are \u201cactually common ways to calm the nervous system.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you lie on your side while raising the arm on the opposite side, the vagus nerve is activated, and the body experiences an increase in lymphatic flow,\u201d she told us. <\/p>\n

\u201cRaising the arm opens the chest space, paving the way to deeper and slower breaths, improving respiratory function.<\/p>\n

\u201cDeep breathing enhances the body\u2019s oxygenation and regulates the autonomic nervous system, transitioning the body from a fight-or-flight state to a rest-and-digest state.\u201d <\/p>\n

She continued, \u201cFinally, this unique position replicates the foetal position, which the brain associates with the feeling of safety. This ignites the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, which aids in emotional regulation.\u201d <\/p>\n

Any other tips? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes! Dr Shah told us that humming and tidying might help too. <\/p>\n

Even watching your favourite show \u2013 you know, the one you\u2019ve rewatched 57 times \u2013 might help, she stated. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe body encounters a surge in endorphins when it\u2019s met with predictability and familiarity, as the brain favours cognitive ease, ensuring that it is not required to process unpredictable stimuli.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we rewatch programmes that we have previously seen, the brain receives a feeling of control, activating its reward system by releasing dopamine and oxytocin.\u201d <\/p>\n

So you\u2019re saying I should lie down and binge-watch Derry Girls again? Fine, I\u2019ll suffer through it…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I reckon I have the following in common with most people; I\u2019m always stressed, and I can never…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3517,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[105,2024,234,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-3516","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-nervous-system","10":"tag-sleep","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114290436530666251","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3516"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3516\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}