Tuesday 18 September 2012

Seeking silence

After a hectic day at the office I found myself craving peace and quiet at home and banished myself to the bedroom for some proper R&R.

The city can be hyper-stimulating for the senses and so it is important to counter it with some sensory downtime. This means no tv, no radio, preferably natural or non-harsh light and some proper silence.

It can feel very strange to sit in silence when you work in a noisy/busy environment, but once you get used to it it is very relaxing. It puts your nervous system into the parasympathetic rest and repair mode which you need to be in in order to get restful sleep and help your body recover from the days stressors.

Interestingly a lack of tolerance to sound or bright light can be a symptom of fatigued adrenal glands so if you find yourself turning the volume down on the tv of wearing your shades on a cloudy day you may want to do an adrenal stress test.

It is also possible test whether someone is adrenally impaired by checking their pupillary response too light.

You get them to close their eyes in a darkish room and then after 15 seconds open them whilst shining a suitable light (an opticians test light for example, not a torch!) into their eye.

The pupil should shrink and then stay small in response to the light.
If the pupil shrinks and then pulses, alternating between dilation and contraction then it may may be a sign of adrenal fatigue. If it shrinks but then quick quickly dilates and stays dilated over 30 seconds that may be a sign of adrenal exhaustion in which case some serious downtime is needed.
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