Credit : Nathan Walz (Facebook)
"5 days ago
·
You have an emergency reset button built into the skin of your face and hardly anyone knows how to use it.
This mechanism is one of the fastest ways to lower your heart rate and reduce anxiety.
Seals, whales, and dolphins use a pronounced version of this. The moment their face touches water, their heart rate slows, allowing them to dive for longer periods of time.
The trigeminal nerve drives this function. It’s one of the largest nerves in your head, covering the entire surface of your face. Cold water touching your face, especially your forehead, eyes, nose, and upper cheeks, fires the nerve. The vagus nerve activates and flips on your parasympathetic nervous system, also known as rest and digest.
Parasympathetic response is where you want to be to feel calm, slow your heart, and reduce panic symptoms. Modern life does the opposite, keeping you stuck in fight or flight.
This action is called the mammalian dive reflex. Babies instinctively use this to hold their breath and slow their heart rate when submerged in water. We took my son for swimming lessons when he was 5-6 months old and at the end, we dunked our babies. Every one of them knew to hold their breath and not one of them cried.
The mammalian dive reflex is considered to be one of the most powerful autonomic reflexes in the human body.
I have my clients activate this as a first step for cold adaptation. Many report that it's more effective than coffee to start their day. I concur.
Other side effects include increased focus, less puffiness, tighter skin, and a healthy glow to your face, though temporary.
To get started:
1️⃣ Fill a bowl with ice water. You want the temp to be 59F/15C or colder. Colder water creates a stronger response. If you tend to be sensitive, start warmer and work your way down.
2️⃣ Hold your breath and submerge your face to your hairline. Do a total of 5 dunks. 30-60 second rest between. Work towards 30 seconds or more for the extra adventurous. Longer breath holds create a stronger response.
Have a towel on hand to dab your face in between dunks.
CAUTION: If you have heart issues or other health conditions, get medical clearance.
When used in the morning it increases alertness. Used at night it improves sleep. Add slow nasal breathing like Buteyko to extend the calm.
Experiment to see what works best for you." #ReduceAnxiety #IceWaterHack
"5 days ago
·
You have an emergency reset button built into the skin of your face and hardly anyone knows how to use it.
This mechanism is one of the fastest ways to lower your heart rate and reduce anxiety.
Seals, whales, and dolphins use a pronounced version of this. The moment their face touches water, their heart rate slows, allowing them to dive for longer periods of time.
The trigeminal nerve drives this function. It’s one of the largest nerves in your head, covering the entire surface of your face. Cold water touching your face, especially your forehead, eyes, nose, and upper cheeks, fires the nerve. The vagus nerve activates and flips on your parasympathetic nervous system, also known as rest and digest.
Parasympathetic response is where you want to be to feel calm, slow your heart, and reduce panic symptoms. Modern life does the opposite, keeping you stuck in fight or flight.
This action is called the mammalian dive reflex. Babies instinctively use this to hold their breath and slow their heart rate when submerged in water. We took my son for swimming lessons when he was 5-6 months old and at the end, we dunked our babies. Every one of them knew to hold their breath and not one of them cried.
The mammalian dive reflex is considered to be one of the most powerful autonomic reflexes in the human body.
I have my clients activate this as a first step for cold adaptation. Many report that it's more effective than coffee to start their day. I concur.
Other side effects include increased focus, less puffiness, tighter skin, and a healthy glow to your face, though temporary.
To get started:
1️⃣ Fill a bowl with ice water. You want the temp to be 59F/15C or colder. Colder water creates a stronger response. If you tend to be sensitive, start warmer and work your way down.
2️⃣ Hold your breath and submerge your face to your hairline. Do a total of 5 dunks. 30-60 second rest between. Work towards 30 seconds or more for the extra adventurous. Longer breath holds create a stronger response.
Have a towel on hand to dab your face in between dunks.
CAUTION: If you have heart issues or other health conditions, get medical clearance.
When used in the morning it increases alertness. Used at night it improves sleep. Add slow nasal breathing like Buteyko to extend the calm.
Experiment to see what works best for you." #ReduceAnxiety #IceWaterHack
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