Learning To Live A Slower Paced Life

When was the last time you sat down and did nothing?  I mean, literally did nothing – just enjoyed the sun on your face, the cool breeze, listened to the birds chirping and let all of your thoughts just drift away. As a society we never just do “nothing” anymore, and it’s making us sick. As published on the National Center for Biotechnology Information… “The relationship between stress and illness is complex. The susceptibility to stress varies from person to person. Among the factors that influenced the susceptibility to stress are genetic vulnerability, coping style, type of personality and social support. Not all stress has negative effect. Studies have shown that short-term stress boosted the immune system, but chronic stress has a significant effect on the immune system that ultimately manifests an illness. It raises catecholamine and suppressor T cells levels, which suppress the immune system. This suppression, in turn, raises the risk of viral infection. Stress also leads to the release of histamine, which can trigger severe broncho-constriction in asthmatics. Stress increases the risk for diabetes mellitus, especially in overweight individuals, since psychological stress alters insulin needs. Stress also alters the acid concentration in the stomach, which can lead to peptic ulcers, stress ulcers or ulcerative colitis. Chronic stress can also lead to plaque buildup in the arteries (atherosclerosis), especially if combined with a high-fat diet and sedentary living. The correlation between stressful life events and psychiatric illness is stronger than the correlation with medical or physical illness. The relationship of stress with psychiatric illness is strongest in neuroses, which is followed by depression and schizophrenia. There is no scientific evidence of a direct cause-and-effect relationship between the immune system changes and the development of cancer. However, recent studies found a link between stress, tumour development and suppression of natural killer (NK) cells, which is actively involved in preventing metastasis and destroying small metastases” From the moment we get up we are constantly moving, always doing something and soliciting a stress response or pattern… Checking email and texts first thing in the morning then every five minutes. Rushing to get ready for work and the kids to school. Back to back meetings, appointments or errands to run. Multi-tasking at stop lights and in traffic on our way home. Cleaning the house, doing yard work and marking off our mile high list of responsibilities. The to-do list that keeps us going is never ending.  And I don’t know about you, but it seems like the older I get, the more responsibilities and commitments I have. We underestimate the impact always having “to do something” has on our health. The American Medical Association has stated that stress is the basic cause of more than 60 percent of all human illness and disease. I tell my clients all the time, “you don’t work in an emergency room. No one is going to die if you don’t respond to that email or text, empty the dishwasher before bed or don’t pick up your dry cleaning today.” Learning to live a slower paced life is what will heal us all. In this week’s video and blog I dive into more detail about how living a fast-pace life elicits the stress response, decreases health and the simple steps you can take daily to slow down and heal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckm4FZTbodY&feature=youtu.be Our body can only heal in a relaxed state. I used to be a type-A girl: running from job to job, constantly on the go, getting high on marking things off my to-do list and I never slowed down. That was, until I realized just how much damage my fast-pace life was doing to my health. A lot of us live in a fight or flight state all of the time, whether we recognize it or not, as a result of the fast-pace life that our world has evolved to. And when we’re in this state, all of our energy is diverted outward – for quick thinking and quick moving. When we are in a resting state, our energy is focused inward on digestion and healing. The classic textbook example of this is if you imagine you were being chased by a lion.  Your body’s effective fight or flight response would act quickly to send all resources and blood flow to your arms and legs for running and to your brain for quick thinking. Although we do not face lions in our typical day, on a physiological level our body does not know the difference between a lion chasing you and the sense of urgency you feel to respond to email, the stress of traffic or your job and the constant worrying about life’s daily responsibilities. This consistent state of fight or flight triggers the body to release the stress hormone, cortisol.  Cortisol not only responds to stress but it also regulates inflammation (the root of all disease), blood sugar levels, sleep cycles and plays a major role in balancing thyroid and the rest of the endocrine system. Even low grade stress triggers the fight or flight response and the output of cortisol, and over time this constant output of cortisol creates imbalances in the other body systems that it controls in addition to taking a toll on other hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA and thyroid. Aside from cortisol and overall hormone dysregulation from chronic low (or high) grade stress, the fight or flight response also impacts your gut health. Beneficial and bad bacteria in the gut respond to stress by creating something called biofilm.  The accumulation of biofilm can alter the internal environment of the gut, contributing to internal toxicity and leaky gut itself. When we are in a rested state, the body is able to focus its resources on healing, digesting food and nutrient delivery for cellular functions. Over time, I have continued to find ways to slow down in life to allow my body to heal and to stay well.   Here are examples of simple steps you can take to slow down and to allow the healing to happen:

• Boundaries around technologies – I only attend to email, phone and work from 7am-7pm
• Deep breathing – long inhales and exhales instantly shut off the fight or flight response and put the body in a rest and relaxed state
• Meditation – taking 5 minutes or more per day to sit and “just do nothing”
• Saying “No” – being mindful of piling too much on my plate and politely saying no

We feel guilty when we take time for ourselves, but in healing ourselves we can help others.  When we invest the time to slow down in life, more healing can happen, we can be more productive in life instead of being slowed down by sickness, and we can be more present for our family, friends and loved ones. Even though I’m settling into a slower paced life, I still get that  feeling of urgency that starts to bubble up from time to time. But I can quickly diffuse it by breathing deeply or stepping away from the “busy-ness” of what I’m doing and resetting my mindset around the priority to heal and support my body. I challenge you this week to look for where you can add more rest, even if it’s only for 5 minutes, and where you can slow down in your life to allow the healing to happen.