Self Regulation Through the 5 Senses: A Guide to Calming the Nervous System
How to calm your nervous system and self-regulate when you are activated, triggered, or hyper-aroused.
Our nervous system plays a powerful role in our human experience. It influences overall health and wellbeing and impacts our physiology. Our nervous system influences actions from our breath patterns, thoughts, cognitions to our feelings, emotions and sense of belonging. Our nervous system is also responsible for our learning, stress resilience, healing and connection.
We move through life accruing experiences and relationships that impact how we see, feel and navigate reality. We may have humans in our life that make us feel calm, connected, safe, and open to growth. And we may have others that create stress, insecurity, fear, disconnection. We may partake in activities that sway our stress levels, and others that calm us down.
Cultivating the skills to self-soothe and regulate your nervous system is integral not only to immunity and health, but also emotional resilience and the inevitability of life’s changes. When we can engage from a regulated nervous system we are:
Deepen intimacy, connection and belonging
Able to navigate challenging discussions or discomfort
Hold complexity of different opinions, beliefs, and realities (in others and in ourselves)
Self advocate and communicate personal needs
Manage our energy levels with mindfulness and care
When we tend to our nervous system health, we can show up to life with less reactivity, and greater care.
There are a myriad of ways to resource or bolster the nervous system. For those who ‘know’ what to do but can’t ‘feel or embody’ the shift you want to make, working somatically (through the body) or the 5 senses can be a powerful pathway to supporting your whole being.
5 Sensory Strategies to Regulate and Calm the Nervous System
Smell
Our sense of smell is one of the most primitive parts of the brain. It is connected to the limbic system, the part of the brain responsible for mood, memory, behavior and emotion. When we smell an aroma or fragrance, it has an immediate impact on our physiology and nervous system. Beyond sense itself, when we pause to soak in smell, we also activate deep breathing which supports relaxation and integration.
3 Ways to Self Regulate with Smell
When eating a meal, pause to smell the aromas of your food. This also enhances your sense of taste.
Use aromatherapy. A few ideas include organic essential oil in a diffuser or diluted in a carrier oil and applied to skin. Test out a few scents and notice which ones invite a sense of ease, muscle relaxation and deep breaths.
Go for a mindful walk and take pause to smell different plants you encounter. Beyond the smell, a the therapeutic modality of ecopsychology informs us that being in nature regulates the nervous system.
Sight
Our eyes are an evolutionary ally that observed the environment for survival. Studies found that 65% of the population are visual learners. We are constantly taking in sensory impressions. Today’s modern world is saturated with stimulation for the eyes as media, technology vie for attention. When we feel anxious, stressed or dysregulated our pupils dilate and we may experience a variety of optical conditions like shimmers, halos, shadows, flashes, blurred vision, tunnel vision, light sensitivity and more. In fact, one therapeutic modality often used for healing trauma is called EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing).
3 says to regulate the nervous system with Sight
Watch the sunset, stare at the sky or let your gaze rest on a horizon.Panoramic or peripheral vision is associated with decreased arousal or activation of the nervous system. Give your focal vision a rest and it will help restore your relaxation.
Eye Yoga. Eye movement and the vagus nerve are connected. The vagus nerve, which is responsible for supporting the parasympathetic nervous system to calm the body after a stressful situation occurred. and eye movements are connected. A few ways to practice include settling your gaze softly on one point, shifting your gaze right to left or up and down, shifting your gaze in slow circles. Explore stretching and engaging the eye muscles followed by relaxing them.
Clear your visual clutter.
Chromotherapy or color therapy. Colors have an effect on
Sound
Auditory stimuli permeate every level of the nervous system. Sound affects our brain waves, which are often associated with various emotional states. Some sounds create soothing and self-regulation while others can be jarring, aggravating or disruptive. Consider how certain sounds make you feel, and start to create an environment of harmonious sounds. We can use sound to stimulate the vagus nervous, responsible for nervous system support.
4 ways to use sound to self-regulate
Listen to rhythmic, slower music. This tends to be grounding and less activating than music with a lot of variation, spontaneity or fast beats.
Soak to the sound of nature: rain, bird song, the leaves in the wind. Researchers found that natural sounds are associated with resting activity in the brain.
Humming, singing, chanting, toning. Gentle sounds that create vibration in the larynx promote a state of relaxation.
Listen to binaural beats. Though research is still underway, binaural beats are said to have a similar effect as meditation in supporting stress release, creativity, improved mood, focus, sleep.
Taste
When the body is stressed, it can impact our digestion, perception of taste, cravings, suppression of appetite and more. If the body in a state of arousal (fight, flight, freeze, fawn), all efforts are going towards defense rather than allowing food to nourish as medicine. We can use the sense of taste consciously to shift the nervous system into a place of rest and digest.
3 Ways to Self-Regulate with Taste
Slow and mindful eating. Be fully present with your food. Release distractions like TV shows (the body doesn’t know the difference of watching a lion attack on the TV versus in real life). Take three slow breaths and taste each bite fully. The practice of savoring has profound effects not only only for the brain to process satiation but also on mood and feelings of abundance.
Limit stimulants. Caffeine, alcohol, processed sugars all contribute to fluctuations in energy and mood. Substitute with an herbal tea that calms like chamomile with honey, kava root, valerian.
Hydrate. It may sound simple, but staying hydrated supports nervous system function. When we aren’t hydrated, we may experience reduced cognitive function, altered moods, increased stress, impaired concentration, and more. When we are hydrated our nervous system function improves.
Touch
Touch can have a positive impact on the nervous system. It stimulates the nerve endings that correspond to the vagus nerve which supports body’s stress response, reduces cortisol (stress hormone) and releases oxytocin which enables us to feel good.
3 Ways to to Self-Regulate with Touch
Cuddling, hugging, holding hands and pleasant touch reduces stress and strengthens social bonds.
Self Massage. Slow, rhythmic strokes activate the parasympathetic nervous system and invite body relaxation. Ayurveda, the Ancient mind-body science of India explains the practice of abhyanga (self massage) as essential to longevity, resilience and immunity.
Try a weighted blanket. They can support anxiety, sleep disorder, ADHD by alleviating symptoms like quick heart rate or breathing.
These are just a few practices and skills you can cultivate to bolster your toolbox of physiological and emotional resources.
Written by Gaby Colletta
Masters in Integral Counseling Psychology, Somatic Therapist & Coach, Yoga Instructor E-RYT 500, YACEP, Ayurvedic Health Counselor AHC.
Disclaimer: The content on this website is intended for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult with your physician or another qualified health provider regarding any medical concerns.