I hope this email finds you in good health and spirits, and that your 2024 is off to a great start. Today, I want to share with you some fascinating insights into how engaging in play and fun activities can have a profoundly beneficial effect on your nervous system and overall health. The question of the day is: are you in your right mind Austin TX?

I certainly hope so because if your right brain is dominant over your left brain, you will be healthier, happier, and will probably live longer.  There really are 2 brains.  The left hemisphere of the brain is mostly logical, factual, and detail oriented.  The right brain is mostly feeling, emotion and imagination.  When left brain activity is greater, it puts us in a state of sympathetic dominance, "flight or fight".  This results in stress, anxiety, depression, fatigue, high blood pressure, lowered sex drive and much more. When we spend too much time on left brain activities like computing, texting, video games, Sudoku, watching TV, etc., it can actually lead to right brain dysfunction.  WOW!  This is huge.   My dad used to say that watching TV would rot your brain. It turns out - he was right.  Our Western world (especially the U.S.) discriminates against the right hemisphere.  Left brain learning blocks our ability to see the whole picture.  It keeps us from being creative and "present" in our lives.  We need more right brain activity to balance our brains and stay healthy.

Balance your brain in Austin TX

So, to get into your right mind, do more of the following: Go out and play.  That's right, you need to go out and play.  You need more social interactions and laughter.  It should be fun to you.  It doesn't work if I tell you what to do, but here are some ideas:  Ride a bike, dance, plant a garden, go for a walk with a friend, sing (even if you are bad), have a girl’s night out, a boy’s night out, play with a puppy, play with a baby, play twister, paint, draw or cook a nice meal with someone you enjoy. One study found that the two most beneficial exercises for your brain are ping-pong and dancing. What these two activities have in common is that they are a lot of fun, and you are very connected to another person.  And that makes your brain very happy.

Another critical part to keeping your brain balanced is to make sure your spine is in optimal alignment.  When your spine is subluxated (misaligned) it causes interference to your nervous system which leads you to become sympathetic dominant.  This also keeps you in a stressed “fight or flight” state.  This stress response leads to elevated cortisol levels, weight gain, sleep loss, and eventually adrenal fatigue.  Chiropractors are trained to carefully analyze the spine for subluxations and distortions.  If we find subluxations, we gently adjust the spine to correct them, which allows for normal, healthy nerve flow.  The body then returns to a state of parasympathetic dominance, which keeps you in a healing and repairing mode, instead of a stressed state.  When your nervous system is functionally at optimal, it allows for the body and brain to be balanced and at ease.  This is especially critical for normal childhood development.  We now know that a spine should be maintained from birth, and that early detection and correction is essential for proper development of a child’s spine and nervous system.

If it has been some time since you have had your or your child’s spine checked, call us at (512) 346-3536 or click here to request an appointment.  It’s never too late to head down a healthy path.

And have some fun!  Life is short.