Our autonomic nervous system is made of two parts: the sympathetic and parasympathetic. The sympathetic is known as our fight or flight system. This part is activated when we are in dangerous or stressful situations. Both traumatic events and staying too busy cause us to stay in the sympathetic. Both good stress and bad stress cause the same response in our bodies. On the other hand, there is the parasympathetic, also known as the rest and restore system. This part is activated when we are in calm, safe, everyday moments of life. This is where we rest, drop our walls, engage in transparent, authentic relationships with our safe people, and our bodies start to heal.
These two systems are supposed to work cohesively together, but when we push ourselves too hard for too long, our bodies become unbalanced. If I’m in a relationship where I’m constantly on the defense, I’m in my sympathetic all the time. If I’m a yes person and plan my day down to the minute, I’m in the sympathetic all the time. If I’m in a season of super productivity and remain hyper-focused all day, I’m living in the sympathetic.
Because of the unbalance, the parasympathetic keeps being shut down. It’s over here screaming at the sympathetic, trying to make the body rest, but instead, the sympathetic pushes harder. The parasympathetic throws fatigue into the mix, hoping to slow the body down. Then sickness. If that doesn’t work, it goes for depression. At this point the sympathetic retaliates with anxiety, which pushes the body, mind, and emotions even harder. When fatigue, illness, and depression fail, the parasympathetic pulls out its big guns—burnout. Burnout makes everything slow down or stop functioning. But for the parasympathetic, there’s hope that the body might finally get to a place of healing and restoration.
When we are stuck in the sympathetic indefinitely, we live on adrenaline—in fact, we become literal adrenaline addicts. But here’s the problem: do you know where dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphins are created? In our parasympathetic. These are the chemicals that bring joy, peace, and contentment. Dopamine helps with motor movements, goal setting, alertness, and plays a vital role with several organs. Serotonin helps regulate moods and digestion, along with impacting bone health and pain perception. Oxytocin facilitates in social bonding, wound healing, stimulating milk production, reduces stress and anxiety, and enhances empathy and compassion. Endorphins reduce pain perception, help the body cope with stress, aid in the body’s reward system, contribute to feelings of euphoria and pleasure, and are released during activities like exercise, laughter, and social interactions. If we are stuck in the sympathetic, we will not produce any of these much-needed chemicals that God designed to help us maneuver through life in the best way possible.
Why does all this matter? We must have balance. If we are not engaging the parasympathetic in proportion to the sympathetic, our bodies will go lacking. The parasympathetic is where our body recharges. It’s where we invite our safe people into our world and we connect on deep levels. It’s where we slow down, sit in nature, and learn to enjoy the little moments. And it’s only in that safe, still parasympathetic place that we can meet with our Creator.
God created us with great intention. He knew we would need rest. That’s why he tells us to be still. To rest in the Lord. And that his joy is our strength. Only in the parasympathetic can we truly experience any of those things.
I don’t know about you, but I want to work on balancing these two parts. I want to release the self-created guilt that sitting down and resting after a busy day is lazy. I also need to recognize that productivity and rest can coexist in a balanced way. Will you join me this week as I seek to make space for rest? For restoration? For healing?