Take the Wheel: Drive Your Nervous System Car

Ever feel like a conversation, situation, or game sends you into overdrive? Maybe your heart is racing, your palms are sweating, and you can feel the adrenaline buzzing through your body. Well, this is your autonomic nervous system sending you clues of activation, or your body’s physiological and psychological state of readiness. 

More specifically, within the autonomic nervous system, the sympathetic nervous system is responsible for sending your body into “fight or flight” mode, which is triggered by fear, stress, or anxiety, and results in the sweaty palms, racing heart, and tenseness mentioned above. While this response is critical for keeping us alive or fighting off a illness, prolonged time spent in this activated state can be detrimental to our ability to focus, experience joy, perform, or recover.

The autonomic nervous system, however, also includes the parasympathetic nervous system (“rest and digest”) which is responsible for relaxation, slowing heart rate, decreasing blood pressure, reducing muscular tension, and improving blood circulation. 

In the book, The Mindful Athlete, author and performance and mindfulness expert, George Mumford, shared a sticky analogy to help readers understand our body’s nervous system (p. 105-107).

Mumford shared:

Sympathetic = car accelerator

Parasympathetic = car break

So, the next time you feel your accelerator is pedal to the metal, remember Mumford’s analogy. Your accelerator is doing its job, but you also have access to the brakes to slow the car down. By learning to recognize these clues (sweat, racing heart, fast breathing), you can consciously choose to tap into your rest mode through simple practices. 

Here are a few: 

• Deep Breathing: Ex. Box Breathing (Inhale, hold, and exhale breath for the same number of counts) 

• Mindfulness: Ex. Body Scan (Notice and bring awareness to sensations throughout your body without judging them as good or bad) 

• Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR): Contract and relax specific muscle groups to bring awareness to the feeling of tension and subsequent relaxation 

• Visualization: Imagine a relaxing environment (beach, “happy place”, mountains, etc.) or one that brings a sense of calm 

Practicing these techniques outside of stressful situations makes them more accessible when you’re in one, and soon you’ll soon be driving your internal car rather than letting it take the wheel. 

References

Mumford, G. (2016). The Mindful Athlete: Secrets to Pure Performance. Parallax Press. 

Williams, J. M., & Krane, V. (Eds.). (2021). Applied sport psychology: Personal growth to peak performance. (8th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.