Stress In Space: How Our Environment Impacts Our Nervous System
Stress In Space: How Our Environment Impacts Our Nervous System
written by Taylor Neal
It’s hard to overstate the impact our physical environment has on our state of being, particularly when it comes to the nervous system.
If you’ve ever been in tears over a break-up or frustrated from work, or road raging while driving your car, and then found yourself just moments later at the beach or in a garden, or cozy on a friend’s couch, feeling a sudden sense of calm, warmth or relief, you’ve experienced the impact environment, and the change of environment, can have on your nervous system.
Similarly, if you’ve ever been to a fitness center or a gym where high-intensity training classes are held, you’ve probably noticed that it is common practice to blast rather loud, electronic music, dance remixes of popular songs with substantial drops, and other sorts of energetic, high-intensity music to match the exercise regime being practiced. The lights are often dimmed and substituted for strobe-like light features reminiscent of a night-club, or perhaps they’re overly bright and fluorescent, and the teacher is yelling motivational phrases at you so you can hear them over the music while you complete your set of squats or burpees with sweat dripping from your brow.
As soon as you enter the space, you might actually notice your heart-rate increase, or your breath shorten in length and increase in pace. That would be quite natural, because this is what the space is designed to do.
Dark, neon lighting, bass pumping through the speakers, heavy breathing, grunting, sweating, revved-up instructor bouncing on their toes yelling at you to “give it your all” - all signs telling your body, your nervous system, “it’s time to work,” and your body responds, by working.
Your body responds by working too, in the more calming environments offered by a yoga studio or a quiet wooded trail. This work in both scenarios, comes in the form of either up-regulating or down-regulating; either hyping itself up to meet the occasion, or chilling the body out to be nourished by a more peaceful atmosphere.
To understand the work that the body does in response to these various environments, it is helpful to have a basic understanding of how our nervous system operates. From there, we can develop an understanding of how our environments can play a role in how we feel in, and respond to, the world around us, and ultimately, how we can use this to help support the regulation of our nervous systems.
We can’t always control the environments we find ourselves in, but we can sometimes control our own spaces. For a more in-depth breakdown of how your nervous system works, visit this piece on the Autonomic Nervous System.
Below is a bit of a guide for how to start to understand the relationship between stress and space, and how we can create nervous system friendly environments in our own homes.
What We Can/Can’t Control
The good news is that we can use both our own bodily cues and our own physical spaces to support our journey. While we don’t have control over every space we find ourselves in, we do have control over some aspects of our environments. We can use what we’ve got and roll with it.
It would be naive of me to say that the key to regulating your nervous system is to always be in environments that support nervous system regulation when we need to regulate. This is simply unrealistic for many.
Primarily, this is unrealistic because we live in a world that prioritizes up-regulation (increase heart-rate, activate Sympathetic Nervous System), and fast-paced, action-oriented productivity, so the majority of work environments and public spaces are designed for efficiency in all regards, at all costs.
As previously mentioned, these sorts of specifically targeted environments are designed on purpose to keep us moving, sometimes to feed capitalistic demands, and other times to support our own goals. Going back to our fitness example, you wouldn’t go to a boxing class or HIIT training and expect Enya to be playing (unless it was some sort of remix), because you may have a hard time getting into the groove of the workout if you’re being fed moody ethereal, chilled-out music. Similarly, you probably wouldn’t go to a yoga class or a meditation and expect Bon Jovi, or Skrillex (unless it was some sort of pre-communicated neo-yoga situation), because you may not be able to find the calm amidst the noise.
Using physical space to target certain bodily responses can be useful, and it can also create unnecessary stress and tension. If the nervous system recognizes signals to up-regulate the body in almost every environment, and then struggles to find spaces that feel safe to slow down, we may find ourselves stuck in this up-regulated state more often.
If we go to a yoga class after a long, frustrating day at work expecting to unwind, slow down, and get some gosh darn peace and quiet, to then be presented with electronic dance music and neon lighting and screaming instructors, this might feel like a bit of a shock, and you may find it difficult to access that same experience of “slow down and unwind” you were seeking.
As you can imagine, and surely have experienced at some point in your life, this same concept applies greatly to our experiences of sex and desire. If your environment is not conducive to the way you experience desire, it can pose a great challenge to get into the mood if you’re battling your nervous system the whole way to access pleasure and arousal.
In her influential 2015 book Come As You Are, Emily Nagoski Ph.D. gives the example of a study of lab rats in different environments with brain probes implanted by researchers to instruct the rat to act according to its environment. In this experiment, the rat is placed in three different chambers.
In the first chamber, the rat is exposed to a standard lab setting; the fluorescent lights are on, but things are relatively quiet. In this chamber, when the researcher zaps the “act” probe in the rat’s brain, curious approach behaviors are exhibited, but there is still some hesitation and reservation. The rat feels safe to explore and be curious about it’s environment because no perceived threats are present, but there is still an element of reserve because the brightly lit atmosphere doesn’t recall home and/or safety in the rat’s brain. Us humans can compare this “familiar but not fully relaxed” environment perhaps to our workplace, where we’re not necessarily feeling unsafe, but we can’t fully unwind.
In the second chamber, the lights are off, it’s quiet and calm, and certain smells signify the rat’s nest, or home/safety. Think of this like a cozy corner of your couch or bedroom at home in the evening, or perhaps like a spa. Full rest and relaxation, no threats. You can exhale and snuggle into the warmth and safety. Here, the rat’s brain is almost completely overtaken by approach behaviour; relaxation and ease, and therefore, curiosity, play, and softness.
The third chamber is then designed to up-regulate. Ultra-bright lights, super loud music playing at randomly changing intervals, and clinical, sterile smells - everything about the environment is designed to create stress. Imagine you’re at an over-crowded nightclub and all of a sudden the lights come on but the music doesn’t stop playing and everyone keeps bumping into you. Here, when the rat’s brain is probed to act, there is no sense of curiosity or approach, the rat goes right into fight/flight. If the rat can find a way out, it will run for the hills. Or, if there is no perceived exit, the rat may shut down completely (freeze).
These lab rat scenarios are all relatively common settings in day-to-day modern human life, but they are also examples of how we can utilize factors in our environment to manipulate our states of being, whether the goal is to up-regulate (increase heart-rate, activate sympathetic nervous system), or to down-regulate (slow heart-rate, activate parasympathetic nervous system).
Both are useful in context, both have their place and time. Up-regulated states sometimes get a bad rep because they can become associated with feeling stuck in a stress state when you may wish with all your might you could find some calm in your body. There are cases when actively up-regulating ourselves is quite useful however. It can be quite useful to recall gentle up-regulating strategies to help us move out of freezing states (by gently reminding fingers and/or toes they can move by wiggling them), and even to move through waves of fatigue throughout the day. (If you find yourself in that good old 3pm energy lull at work, a couple of jumping jacks to get your blood moving can have quite a significant impact on your energy almost immediately).
However, if what we really need is to down-regulate and we find ourselves in environments designed to up-regulate, such as in the scenario of arriving at yoga to find a nightclub-esque fitness environment, we may find ourselves in a state of overwhelm, or even in a state of fight/flight/freeze, essentially battling our environment to stay calm and keep it cool.
When You’re In Control: Stress and Your Space
Our poor little lab rats didn’t have much control over which environment they found themselves in, and for many of us this is unfortunately often the case. Most of us however, do have some control over our own home environments, and we can use this little bit of control to help support our nervous systems in going out into the big wild world each day.
If we can begin our day in a space that fosters a more down-regulated state, and carry the knowledge that we can come home to nestle into safety at the end of the day, we can slowly create more access to this down-regulated state on an ongoing basis.
This will look different for each of us, so one of the best ways to figure out what feels soothing for you is to ask your body.
Practice: What is your safe space like?
Whether you’re sitting or standing, close your eyes and start by feeling for your feet on the ground, or your sit-bones connecting with the surface underneath you. Feel for the effects of gravity on your body, and take a moment to find your breath. Without trying to change anything, just intend to notice how your breath is moving in and out of your body.
Intend to picture yourself safe and relaxed. Feel for the sensation of safety in your body, that feeling of warmth and ease that allows you to exhale fully, be soft and still.
Be gentle with yourself if this feels challenging, we don’t get to access this state very often, so it can be difficult to recall immediately. That’s okay, take your time.
Keeping your eyes closed, once you’ve located some sort of safety or warmth in your body, bring your awareness to the environment you are envisioning. Notice all of the factors at play that came with this sense of safety you have found.
What is the lighting like?
Are there noises, sounds, music?
Is there animal life around you?
Plant life?
Other people?
What are the textures like?
Are you curled up in a soft blanket, laying on the floor, on the grass?
What is the temperature of the environment?
How does it smell?
Do any particular tastes come to mind?
Spend some time here, and get creative. This is your envisioned space, so you can add/remove anything you like to make it completely restful, safe, and cozy for yourself.
Once you’ve established your safe environment, bring your awareness back to your breath. Has it changed at all from how it was when you began? How are you feeling in your body? What sensations arise?
When you’re ready, bring your awareness back into your current reality and look around your space.
For most of us, visualizing this sort of safe, warm environment will involve low-sensory elements such as dim lighting or natural light, quiet sounds or soft music, or even silence, perhaps soft textures or natural elements like grass or flowers, and maybe a loved one or a beloved pet.
You also may have noticed your breath, and/or perhaps your heart-rate slow down, a drop in body temperature, and perhaps even some fatigue or bodily slowness as you came out of the practice. If you noticed any bodily changes in this vein, what you’ve just done is down-regulated in relation to your imagined environment.
Taking a moment to slow down and get curious about what sort of physical space comes to mind when we think of safety and ease can help us get clear on how we can design our actual spaces to feel more soothing. Even if you can’t install a waterfall or a spa in your studio apartment, there may be creative ways you can evoke these features to support the down-regulation of your nervous system in your space.
If you found yourself at a waterfall or a stream in your visualization, could you implement some sort of water feature like a small fountain or a diffuser in your space? Could you play the sounds of a babbling brook in the background while you work? If you found yourself in a hot sauna or spa or a dimly lit yoga studio, could you adjust your lighting to mimic this space? Would a heated blanket or even a candle bring about this sense of warmth? How can you add even 1% of the envisioned safe, cozy space you created to your current environment?
Think of the sensations you felt and the senses that were responding to environmental stimuli during the practice, and then have a think about how you can feel these senses in a similar way within your current means. Get creative!
When You’re Not In Control
When we’re out in the world, it’s not as easy as simply modifying our environment to support our nervous systems, but that doesn’t mean we have to be doomed to fight/flight/freeze whenever we step out the door.
The invitation is to collaborate with our nervous system, to learn how to recognize when we’re entering an up-regulated/down-regulated state and bring elements of our safe space with us to help soothe us on the go.
Practice: An “On-The-Go” Body Scan
The best way to get more familiar with where your nervous system is at, is to get in the habit of conducting on-the-go body scans.
These can be as quick as 5 seconds, or stretch over several minutes, depending on where you are and how much time you have. You can do a body scan while sitting at your desk or on the train, waiting for an elevator, washing your hands, going up an escalator. Any moment where you’re able to be relatively still for a brief period poses an opportunity, though I’d recommend maybe not trying this while driving if you’re not familiar with it yet.
At first they may not come as easily, and you may want to give yourself more time to thoroughly check-in when you first begin to integrate this practice. Over time and with practice, you’ll be a pro at the sneaky little in-public body scan.
Wherever you find yourself throughout your day with a moment or two of stillness, take a moment to check in with your nervous system by conducting a brief body scan.
Begin by feeling for your feet on the floor, or your sit-bones underneath you.
Once you have located your connection with the earth or surface below you, gently move your awareness up through your body until you reach the crown of your head (you can also do this by beginning at your crown and moving downward toward your feet, whichever feels most natural).
Without attaching to any certain goal or outcome, intend to notice any sensations in the body during your scan. Take note of them as something to come back to when you have time, now may not be the time to address them but we can still acknowledge them so they feel seen. Sometimes it’s as simple as noticing “oh, I’m actually hungry.”
Next, bring your awareness to your breath and/or your heartbeat (whichever feels easier). Notice the rate of your breath and/or heartbeat. You may wish to bring a hand to your chest to feel this more physically.
If you notice your breath and/or heartbeat to be relatively fast, see if you can bring awareness to your exhale and try to slow it down one breath at a time.
Each time we exhale, our heartbeat temporarily slows down, so by focusing on the exhale and lengthening it even just a little bit for a couple of breaths, we can actually rather quickly down-regulate our systems.
Simultaneously, our heart-rate slightly increases with each inhale, so if we notice a relative slowness in our breathing or heartbeat, we can focus on lengthening the inhale to up-regulate.
Once you’ve done this brief regulation exercise, zoom back into your environment and notice if you feel any different there.
Bringing The Safe Space With You
Another way to support nervous system regulation on-the-go, is to bring some elements of your safe, relaxation environment with you to come back to throughout your day.
Some suggestions are, but not limited to:
Carrying ear-plugs in your bag for when public space gets a little loud
Sunglasses to protect your vision/neutralize lighting (they actually look quite chic to wear indoors)
Listening to calming music as you walk (music at a tempo of 60-80BPM mimics a resting/relaxed heart-rate)
Carrying a grounding object from home (such as a stone, a little knick-knack, a stim device/fidget toy, a photo) can offer some comforting tactile touch if you begin to feel overwhelmed
If you have long hair, carrying a hair-tie can be useful if you just need to get it out of your face when you’re feeling stressed
Having snacks and water with you is a good way to bring the body back to a regulated state. It sounds obvious, but sometimes we feel more stressed when our bodies are also hungry and/or thirsty and we may not realize how this basic need for nourishment is affecting us
Carrying an umbrella (even if it’s not raining) or a parasol (an umbrella for the sun) is a simple hack to keep somewhat of a personal bubble around you in crowded outdoor spaces. It’s rare that someone will actually come under your umbrella unless invited, so you can actually create a bubble of physical safe space around you.
Chewing gum, mints, or hard candies to suck on can help calm the nervous system by bringing awareness to taste.
Let’s be real, in an ideal world we’re all frolicking in our envisioned safe and pleasant environment whenever we choose, but unfortunately that’s not often our reality.
Rather than feeling defeated by our nervous system when it responds to more challenging environments, we can befriend it, lean in and listen to it, and develop little practices and tools for supporting ourselves wherever we end up. And, we can take back control of our own spaces, even if it’s just within our bedrooms.
Bibliography
Nagoski, E. (2015). Come as you are: The surprising new science of women’s sexual wellbeing. Simon & Schuster.