As a parent you have probably experienced a child having a meltdown... or not wanting to go to bed... or be constantly coming down with whatever bug is going around, it's all part of being a kid, right?! Maybe not! It is the job of the nervous system to manage communication between the brain and body to ensure our internal ecosystem is able to maintain its delicate balance, so let's have a closer look at that...
Our Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) controls all the involuntary actions that keep us alive like breathing, heart rate & digestion and is split into two branches known as the Sympathetic Nervous System ‘fight or flight’ and the Parasympathetic Nervous System ‘rest & digest’. The fight or flight response prepares the body to react to stresses such as danger, threat or acute injury. The rest & digest response controls functions of the body necessary to maintain homeostasis, digestion, growth, repair and regeneration and returns our body to a state of calm. These two branches of the ANS are like gears in a car, we cannot be in 'drive' and 'reverse' at the same time and the more time we spend in rest & digest the healthier we are.
In this modern age with constant stimulation, technology use, poor posture and change in lifestyle we are seeing that a growing percentage of children (and adults) are spending the majority of their lives in fight or flight or ‘sympathetic dominance’. This can have a significant impact on health and wellbeing and can result in poor mood regulation, difficulty falling and staying asleep, restlessness and fidgety behaviour, digestive issues and reduced efficiency of the immune system.
Our Central Nervous System is housed by our spine and skull, so not only does the function of your spine affect how your nervous system is able to control your body, your spine is the gateway through which your nervous system receives information about your body and external environment. Our spinal function is one of the very important factors that can impact which gear our body chooses to drive in: fight or flight or rest & digest; how at ease and in balance our internal ecosystem is and the way we respond to the world around us.
If you are concerned your child might be living in a fight or flight, sympathetic dominant state we recommend a formal assessment with a Chiropractor. To book a consultation or for more information about the health of your child or yourself please contact us at hello@livelovelifechiro.com.