Your Nervous System, Explained: 4 Questions People Ask Most

Oct 4

3 min read

Search for "nervous system" and one of the first results is a guide from Cleveland Clinic, followed by a short list of questions other people are asking. They are good questions. Here they are, answered in plain language, with a link back to the Cleveland Clinic article so you can read the source yourself.

What are the 7 functions of the nervous system?

People search for seven. Cleveland Clinic's list has nine. Your nervous system sends messages between your brain and your body that regulate:

Thoughts, memory, learning, and feelings
Movement, balance, and coordination
Your senses
Wound healing
Sleep
Heartbeat and breathing
Your response to stressful situations
Digestion
Body processes like puberty and aging

Notice how many of those happen without you thinking about them. Sleep, heartbeat, breath, digestion, and your stress response all run through one system. That is why a stressful month can show up in your sleep and your stomach at the same time.

What triggers your nervous system?

Your nervous system is always working. What most people mean by this question is, what sets off the alert side?

Cleveland Clinic explains that your sympathetic nervous system, the one behind "fight or flight," becomes more active when you are stressed, in danger, or physically active. Its partner, your parasympathetic nervous system, relaxes your body after stress and runs the "rest and digest" work when you feel calm and safe.

Both are healthy. You need the alert side to meet a deadline or catch a falling glass. The same source notes that the alert side can strain your body when it stays active for too long. A move, a full calendar, or a hard season at work can keep it switched on long after the moment has passed.

How can I tell if something is wrong with my nervous system?

Cleveland Clinic's list of possible signs of a nervous system condition includes:

Changes in movement or coordination
Memory loss
Pain, numbness, or a pins and needles feeling
Changes in behavior or mood
Trouble thinking and reasoning

Many people who walk into the studio describe something different. They feel tired and wired at once, and their body will not settle at night. If you are not sure which one you are dealing with, start with your doctor.

What are the most common signs of nervous system dysregulation?

Dysregulation is not a medical diagnosis. It is a plain way to describe a body that has been on alert for so long it has trouble coming back down.

Cleveland Clinic explains that when your stress response stays switched on, it wears on your body over time. Its guide to stress lists signs like these:

Trouble sleeping
A racing heart
Headaches
A tight, clenched jaw
Stomach and digestion troubles
Feeling anxious or irritable
Getting sick more often

If a few of these feel familiar, you are in good company. They can have other causes too, so talk with your doctor about anything that lingers or worries you.

Where the Live Easy Method fits

The Live Easy Method is for the everyday part of this picture, the part where life has asked a lot of you and your body has forgotten how to come down.

Each Live Easy Method session moves the body into the parasympathetic, relaxed state. I call it the receptive, good feeling state. We get there with natural breath, gentle movement, and sound. You do not need any experience. You only need to show up and allow your body to do what it already knows how to do.

Guests often tell me the first thing they notice is their sleep.

If you want to feel the difference between reading about your nervous system and resting in it, come try a session.

Register for a Live Easy Method Session

Live easy.Lisa

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