Cold Exposure To Calm You Down?

Did you know that when the body suddenly adjusts to cold, the vagus nerve is stimulated. Your fight or flight system declines (sympathetic nervous system) and your rest and digest nervous system increases (parasympathetic). When this happens we tend to reset and calm down.

So when you find yourself in the middle of a stressful situation or panic episode, taking a moment to splash cool water on your face or taking a cool shower can help to lower the intensity of the moment, allowing you to think more clearly, get your frontal lobe (executive brain) back online, and come back to center.

In some individuals, the brain is especially wired towards anxiety. This exercise interrupts those neurons that are consistently firing together and switches to a calmer neural pathway.

If that's not possible at the time, try drinking cold water, it's not as effective, but can have a positive impact non the less.