Relaxing the Nerves
Janelle Klein MSN, ARNP
The design of our body is mind boggling in its complexity. We are an incredible work of art combined with an unrivaled feat of engineering. Beyond all that, we move, think and feel. Nerves are the machinery by which we accomplish much of this.
Electrical signals are sent 24/7. Your nerves transmit outside information such as smooth or rough, hot or cold inside your body so you can think about the information and respond. Many of our nerves are automatic, working without deliberate thought or command. One of the more notable automatic actions is the pumping of your heart.
The heart of someone who lives to be 70 years old will have pumped over 2.5 billion times. No thought is required. It just happens. Good thing too! If we had to consciously direct all the details of how our heart pumped or how our lungs breathed, we would have no time for anything else. Furthermore, sleep would result in death.
Reflexes are another automatic nerve action. If you pick up a very hot plate, within a fraction of a second, the information reaches the spinal cord. It is determined at cord level that harm could occur and the "command" is given to pull back. The hand jerks back without any thought from the brain. If the signal had to go all the way to the brain for consideration and decision, more time would pass and greater damage could occur.
Last month we looked at glutamate, the main chemical your body uses to excite nerves. Now let's look at GABA the main chemical that inhibits or reduces nerve transmission.
The balance of your nerves is complex and well regulated. GABA calms your nerves and makes you relax. When something stresses you, your GABA connect to your GABA receptors and help you to calm down. GABA helps you get to sleep and stay asleep. Yet we don't want GABA to overdo it to the point of shutting down important automatic functions such as breathing and the beating of our heart!
Alcohol is a classic example of a substance that mimics GABA. Alcohol's initial effect is relaxation and a feeling of pleasure. However, the back lash of alcohol is that it down regulates GABA receptors. This means GABA gets "ignored" when it tries to signal the nerves to relax. Overtime, more alcohol is needed to achieve the same level of relaxation. This often places the person in a very unfortunate position of using alcohol to achieve relaxation, something that its very use is destroying. This physiologic trait makes alcohol an infamous drug of abuse.
In fact taking GABA modulating drugs, over the counter or prescribed, is a prime way to damage your delicate GABA system. Benzodiazepines (Xanax, Ativan, Restoril, Valium) are well known for their long-term ability to shut down GABA receptors worsening the problem for which it was taken and creating many more. Of course they are effective in the short term, that is why they are used. But few are told of the long-term damaging effects when they are started on the medication.
Because of the damaging effect of alcohol and benzodiazepines on the GABA and glutamate system, withdrawal from them can cause severe, sometimes life threatening symptoms. Withdrawal should be supervised by a knowledgeable practitioner.
As usual, I can't emphasize enough, let your food be your medicine! Rather than go get supplements and drugs that can cause further harm, give your body whole food. Vegetables, grains and nuts contain the proteins and building blocks needed to synthesize GABA.
Don't chance taking a refined supplement that may bypass your bodies protective mechanisms and down regulate delicate nerve machinery. You need those nerves for years to come! Food as grown is a perfectly designed package that your body can pull apart and use effectively.
A safe, simple thing that can be done to help your GABA system stay in good health is routine exercise. Exercise raises GABA levels and has been shown to help your body handle stress. Best of all it has no untoward side-effects. You can even give it to children!
If your children seem irritable or tense, get them out away from the false excitement of television, books and computers and exercise with them. Go for a hike, ride bikes or this time of the year find a sled hill, stack a pile of wood for your neighbor or build a snowman. You will be surprised the difference it can make in their (and your) ability to cope with the stressors of routine life.
Read an article about the mechanisms which excite your nerves- Exciting the Nerves.
Do you want better digestion? Follow this link to learn Digestion Rules. A series of 6 articles that will help you understand and improve your digestion.