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4 Techniques To Recalibrate Your Nervous System, From A Clinical Psychologist
Anxiety can hit during unexpected times, and you're not always in a setting that calls for a half-hour meditation or even a few moments by yourself. So what can you do when that wave of nervous energy suddenly arises?
According to licensed clinical psychologist Jennifer Taitz, Psy.D., ABPP, author of Stress Resets: How To Soothe Your Body and Mind in Minutes, the answer is a simple acronym: TIPP.
"[It] stands for temperature, intense exercise, progressive muscle relaxation, and paced breathing," she says on this episode of the mindbodygreen podcast. "If you want the equivalent of control-alt-delete for your brain and body, TIPP is your new friend." Allow Taitz to walk you through each technique below:
Temperature
OK, it's not like you can easily procure a bowl of ice water in a public setting, but if you are in the comfort of your own home, a quick dunk can be quite helpful.
"Set a timer for 30 seconds, submerge your face in a salad bowl full of ice water—it doesn't need to be too cold—and hold your breath for 30 seconds," Taitz explains. "When a human body is submerged, specifically their nose, underwater, it activates the mammalian dive response that lowers your heart rate [and] redirects blood flow from nonessential to essential organs."
Essentially: The cold can calm you down. Not to mention, it's pretty difficult to remember your negative thoughts while submerging your face in ice; it takes your focus off the anxiety by making you feel physically uncomfortable.
If you don't have ice on hand, Taitz says you could take a moment to massage your face with a chilled facial roller. "It's not going to create the same effects, but it could help ground yourself with the cold [and] cool you down, metaphorically and literally," she notes.
Intense exercise
Similar to facial icing, a bout of intense exercise takes your mind off the anxiety by offering something physical to focus on. And you don't have to necessarily hit the weight rack or go for a mile-long run: "Just 90 seconds of burpees, squat jumps, or something that feels comfortable to you but brings up your heart rate," Taitz explains.
The exercise should also be intense enough that it would be difficult to ruminate on your thoughts simultaneously—if you find yourself spacing out, you may need to push yourself harder. Try this As Many Reps As Possible (AMRAP) workout, which comprises high knees, burpees, and air squats.
Progressive muscle relaxation
As the name suggests, progressive muscle relaxation entails tensing and relaxing each of the muscles in your body. This technique also gives you something physical to focus on instead of the anxiety (are you sensing a theme here?).
"For example, tense your forehead and release, then notice the difference between tension and relaxation in your forehead," says Taitz. "Tense your lips by pursing them together, then release so there's some comfortable space between your upper and lower teeth, and continue throughout your body."
It's a practice you can easily do whenever, wherever, and you don't need much time to feel the calming effects. "There are some versions of this that span 20 minutes, [but] you could do a quick version in just a few minutes," she shares.
Paced breathing
Don't ignore the power of a good sigh, says Taitz. "Doing something as simple as taking a deep inhale, then taking a subsequent inhale (so you're taking two back-to-back inhalations), then taking a long, extended exhale releases a lot of carbon dioxide and can reset your breathing pattern."
In fact, research has shown1 that just five minutes of cyclic sighing (the two back-to-back inhales with a long, steady exhale) was associated with less anxiety and improved positive emotions.
"You don't want to overdo this because you don't want to be sighing all day long. That can replicate feelings of hyperventilating. But if you're stressed out, if you're in traffic, if you're about to go into a difficult meeting, [cyclic sighing] releases a lot of the carbon dioxide that we associate with anxiety," Taitz adds.
She recommends a five-minute sighing practice before moving on to general slow breathing, which "is something that you can do most of the day that has no side effects," she notes.
The takeaway
Think of TIPP as the little, accessible techniques that help you tap into the power of your body's own "reset button." Feel free to choose the practice that feels most comfortable to you at the moment, and know that there isn't one that's better than the other. Take it from Taitz: "All these things together will quickly change how you feel, quiet your mind, and slow your heart rate."
We hope you enjoy this episode! And don't forget to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or YouTube!
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