When starting my own personal journey into how to reduce anxiety, which I have struggled with since being a teenager, I wanted to know how best to support the children that I work with who have all suffered from abuse and developmental trauma.
I came across a book by Professor Van der kolk called ‘The Body Keeps the Score’.
In this book, I read some of the most interesting information relating to how trauma stores within one’s body that made a lot of sense to me when seeing a lot of the children that I work with so dysregulated.
They would fight, run away, spin around, hang upside down, twitch and either become extremely chatty and silly at times or very quiet and withdrawn.
I am sure we all know a child that displays a few of these behaviours and it can be a variety of different factors but if you know this child has experienced Adverse Childhood Experiences or any form of abuse, it will now make more sense to you.
I then started learning how to help children shift from dysregulated states of being to a more calm and grounded sense of self.
This is when I started practising with their foster carers proprioception activities such as jumping, running, biking, climbing etc and also sensory processing activities which helped so many children who had sensory-related issues due to trauma they had experienced.
The results we were seeing were amazing and the children appeared to start feeling safer within their own bodies, giving them a calming effect following the activities.
Beacon House provides so many insightful articles and research around this that are all free to access on their website and I have featured some of these activities and research in our resource library section on this website.
By learning how to help your body to know you are safe, you are beginning the healing process.
Through knowing this groundbreaking knowledge I believe we can all benefit and learn to live more calm, peaceful, and anxiety reduced lives.
Facts
Heart rate variability (HRV) is regulated by the autonomic nervous system (ANS), and its sympathetic and parasympathetic branches.
The sympathetic branch of the ANS is the stress or fight or flight system, getting us ready to act, react and perform to meet the different demands that life throws at us.
The Parasympathetic side (PNS) is characterized as the rest and digest system that allows our body to power down and recover “once the fight is over”.
This acts like the body’s brake.
The Parasympathetic branch slows the heart rate down, relaxes muscles and helps return breathing back to normal.
The Sympathetic branch (SNS) activates stress hormone production and increases the heart’s contraction rate. This acts like the body’s accelerator, which is needed during exercise and mentally and physically stressful situations.
The simplest way to exercise these two systems for yourself is by trying out the following:
Whenever you take a deep breath you activate the SNS, giving a burst of adrenaline which speeds up your heart, many athletes do this before starting a competition.
When you exhale you then activate the PNS which slows down the heart and calms us down.
As we breathe we continually speed up and slow down the heart rate and because of that, the interval between the two is never precisely the same.
A measurement called HRV can be used to test the system.
Good HRV means that the brake and accelerator in the arousal system are both functioning properly and in balance, this is important as it gives us a reasonable degree of control over our responses to stress.
What Does It Mean if We Have Poor HRV?
Poor HRV is a lack of fluctuation in heart rate response to breathing, has a negative impact on thinking, feeling and the body’s response to stress.
Research tells us that a lack of coherence between breathing and heart rate makes people vulnerable to a variety of illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, mental problems, depression and PTSD.
Research also tells us that People with good HRV rarely experience stress and anxiety and their cardiovascular systems are in great shape.
Professor Van der kolk talks about how trauma impacts breathing, impacting the Autonomic nervous system and heart rate variability in his book titled ‘The Body Keeps the Score’.
Simple and Effective Ways to Improve Heart Rate Variability According to Experts
Exercise
It may sound simple but exercise is your number one go-to for the most effective way of improving your HRV.
This does not mean you should put your body under too much strain and always allow enough time for your body to recuperate.
Speak to your GP before starting any new exercise regime if you are unsure.
There are so many useful ideas in our resource library section that will help all ages get some daily movement as part of your routine.
Sleep
Get good consistent sleep and stick with healthy sleep routines and get your recommended daily sleep intake.
Most adults need around 6-9 hours of sleep per night.
school-aged children need 9- 13 hours depending on age.
Remember teenagers need around 8- 10 hours of sleep per night according to the National sleep foundation.
Stay Hydrated
This will promote good blood circulation throughout your body and give it the nutrients that it needs.
Avoid Alcohol
According to some studies, drinking alcohol can lower HRV.
Sunlight
Be exposed to natural sunlight which will help regulate energy levels and hormones.
Take a cold shower
This stimulates the vagus nerve which activates the Parasympathetic branch of your autonomic nervous system
Diet
Eating healthy foods will help improve circadian rhythm as well as your HRV so it is important to establish regular eating patterns.
Not eating 3-4 hours before bedtime can enhance the quality of sleep.
Practice Intentional Breathing
Box breathing is amazing for working on both the PNS and the SNS as you have to breathe in, hold, then exhale.
Watch this YouTube video to help you learn this breathing technique and check out the different breathing techniques and exercises in the resource section of our free website to support your mental health.
Summary
The above tips were found via this amazing article by MedicineNet.
Remember, if you start being mindful of your HRV, and work on this consistently, you will see changes in your stress and anxiety levels.
Further reading and information can be found in Professor Van der Kolk’s book ‘The Body Keeps the Score’, which is featured on our website.
Another good article for supporting your learning is by Stephen Porges, PhD – The Polyvagal Theory.
I have also found some amazing Vagus Nerve exercises for anxiety via YouTube.
Whether you are wanting to reduce your own stress and anxiety levels or wanting to support a child who is in your care, I wish you every success in your journey.