No matter how busy life gets, it's essential to make time for self care, and supporting our nervous systems is particularly important. Herbal nervines and adaptogens can be invaluable allies for coping with the normal day-to-day aggravations of life: work pressures, family responsibilities, financial worries, seasonal mood slumps, over-reliance on caffeine, and so on. Whether your nervous tension results in intermittent minor aches, occasional melancholy, or the odd sleepless night, herbs that can help us find relaxation and calm to enjoy normal and healthful cycles of activity and rest.
Stress is the body’s heightened physiological response to stimuli, both good and bad. The adrenal glands secrete stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline that are associated with a range of effects on our minds and bodies, including a rapid rise in alertness, heart rate, and/or blood pressure. These hormones act together as a normal emergency response mechanism in response to a temporary stressful situation. However, frequent and sustained release of these hormones can result in a weakened immune response, an over-active and worried mind, and damage to our bodies' tissues and systems.
Nervines are herbs that specifically help support the nervous system. Their varieties include tonics like organic skullcap and organic oat tops, mildly calming herbs like organic catnip and organic chamomile, and stronger relaxants like organic valerian root and organic hops. They are used to help relieve normal muscle tension, circular thoughts, wakeful nights, and the occasional worry we all experience from time to time. Some of these herbs provide multiple nervine actions. Skullcap is one such herb: it helps reduce muscle tension, calm worried thoughts, and also nourishes the nervous system. Others, such as oat tops, are not necessarily noticeably relaxing to the physical body, but help support healthy nerve function with regular use.
Adaptogens make up another group of herbs that helps us manage stress as we encounter it. Although this classification is often complicated with difficult-to-define boundaries, there are a few generally recognized qualities that characterize the category. Adaptogenic herbs help restore overall balance and strengthen the functioning of the body as a whole without impacting the balance of any individual organ or bodily system. Adaptogens facilitate these changes through a wide range of actions and plant energetics, rather than through one specific action. Adaptogens may help improve focus, support normal immune system functioning, or exercise some other broad-spectrum normalizing influence on unbalanced physiological processes.
By definition, the active properties of an adaptogenic herb must be safe, non-toxic, and non-habit-forming, even when taken over a long period of time. When taken daily as a tea or extract, these herbs can help improve your mental functioning and allow your body to adapt more easily to stressful situations by curtailing an overactive adrenal response. However, herbs should not be used to push us beyond our limits and cannot replace the benefits of good, restful sleep. These plant allies better support our wellness when taken to address a specific need or when used as gentle long-term tonics.
As always, it's important remember that your individual experience of a given plant may differ from the common ones listed above, so it's a good idea to introduce yourself to new herbs in small doses until you know how they may affect your unique body and mind. When used appropriately, these plant friends can greatly enrich your quality of life, so start exploring!
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