Dr. Andy Galpin

Let's actually finally talk about what some of these interventions are and how we can improve overall nervous system resilience. It makes sense for us to start off with the acute changes. This is the stuff you can do right now in any given moment, and it will change how you're feeling and experiencing life. It will shift your state. You already know this.

This is what I call the four by four matrix. So picture on one part of the matrix, your physiology, on another part, your autonomic nervous system. What I'm going to share with you is how physiology can change autonomic nervous system and it can make it go up or it can make it go down. Autonomic nervous system can do the same thing with physiology. So it's a four-way street here.

This is what I call the four by four matrix. So picture on one part of the matrix, your physiology, on another part, your autonomic nervous system. What I'm going to share with you is how physiology can change autonomic nervous system and it can make it go up or it can make it go down. Autonomic nervous system can do the same thing with physiology. So it's a four-way street here.

Really easy examples. If you want to make your physiology change your autonomic nervous system and you want to make it go up, just scream. Yell right now. Flex your muscles as hard as you possibly can. You do anything like that with your physical body, that will cause your autonomic nervous system to change instantaneously. Heart rate will go up. Respiratory rate will change. Adrenaline levels.

Really easy examples. If you want to make your physiology change your autonomic nervous system and you want to make it go up, just scream. Yell right now. Flex your muscles as hard as you possibly can. You do anything like that with your physical body, that will cause your autonomic nervous system to change instantaneously. Heart rate will go up. Respiratory rate will change. Adrenaline levels.

You picked your metric. Physiology directly increasing autonomic nervous system activity. You can also do the opposite. You could do a physiological double sigh. You could do progressive muscle relaxation. You simply relax your forearm, and this could cause a change in your autonomic nervous system. You get the idea. That is physiology to ANS. ANS to physiology is basically the opposite.

You picked your metric. Physiology directly increasing autonomic nervous system activity. You can also do the opposite. You could do a physiological double sigh. You could do progressive muscle relaxation. You simply relax your forearm, and this could cause a change in your autonomic nervous system. You get the idea. That is physiology to ANS. ANS to physiology is basically the opposite.

You get scared. Big shot of adrenaline happens. This will physically increase your strength capacity, force production, and power output in your muscles. And autonomic nervous system change. You could do this with a supplement or a drug. We could go down. You could be more zen. You could take, again, a medication. It could lower your heart rate.

You get scared. Big shot of adrenaline happens. This will physically increase your strength capacity, force production, and power output in your muscles. And autonomic nervous system change. You could do this with a supplement or a drug. We could go down. You could be more zen. You could take, again, a medication. It could lower your heart rate.

And because of that, it could have a physical response as well. So you intuitively know the answer. You want to change and regulate your autonomic nervous system. You have the capacity and you already know the basics of it. I break these acute and chronic actions up into a bunch of different categories.

And because of that, it could have a physical response as well. So you intuitively know the answer. You want to change and regulate your autonomic nervous system. You have the capacity and you already know the basics of it. I break these acute and chronic actions up into a bunch of different categories.

For me, that looks like there are food-based solutions, there are supplements, there are thermal stressors, so temperature. Of course, there's breath work. There are what I call brain distractions or brain alterations, basic rest or sleep. There's light things you can do like physical light. There's movement stuff, physical movement. And then there's what I call motivation.

For me, that looks like there are food-based solutions, there are supplements, there are thermal stressors, so temperature. Of course, there's breath work. There are what I call brain distractions or brain alterations, basic rest or sleep. There's light things you can do like physical light. There's movement stuff, physical movement. And then there's what I call motivation.

Tons and tons and tons of examples. Most of them though are acute. Let's take motivation, for example. If you scrolled on social media and came across a phenomenal Cameron Haynes or Jocko Willink quote, you might get inspired. That could change your autonomic nervous system. That could change your arousal state right now. You might have been low energy, lethargic.

Tons and tons and tons of examples. Most of them though are acute. Let's take motivation, for example. If you scrolled on social media and came across a phenomenal Cameron Haynes or Jocko Willink quote, you might get inspired. That could change your autonomic nervous system. That could change your arousal state right now. You might have been low energy, lethargic.

That could put you in more sympathetic drive. Your HRV will change if it is actually sufficiently motivating to you. You could read a story or a book or watch a movie. You could do a physical warmup, start training, do some hops. I mentioned earlier, flex as hard as you can.

That could put you in more sympathetic drive. Your HRV will change if it is actually sufficiently motivating to you. You could read a story or a book or watch a movie. You could do a physical warmup, start training, do some hops. I mentioned earlier, flex as hard as you can.

If I shine a bright light directly in your face, all these things would change your state in the moment, but none of those are gonna make your chronic HRV improve over time. These are mostly short-term solutions. The chronic ones are a little bit more difficult, okay? This is when we get into stuff like biofeedback training. If you have sleep issues, getting a chronic sleep improvement.

If I shine a bright light directly in your face, all these things would change your state in the moment, but none of those are gonna make your chronic HRV improve over time. These are mostly short-term solutions. The chronic ones are a little bit more difficult, okay? This is when we get into stuff like biofeedback training. If you have sleep issues, getting a chronic sleep improvement.

If you are chronically under-exercised, start exercising more. If you are really off, particularly if you are low in caloric intake, you're hypocaloric for too long, this might have a chronic effect of bringing more calories back. And then there are things like, again, thermal exposure that can have a chronic effect, but most of that stuff is pretty direct and acute.