Fall Back into a Healthy Routine: How Your Nervous System Handles Seasonal Changes
As the leaves change and daylight hours become shorter, fall brings more than cooler temperatures it also brings changes to our daily routines. Earlier sunsets, changing sleep schedules, less outdoor activity, and increased stress can all affect how our bodies adapt to the season.
Your nervous system plays an important role in regulating sleep, movement, stress responses, and recovery. One of the ways we see the balance between the sympathetic (fight or flight) and parasympathetic (rest and digest) branches of the autonomic nervous system is through heart rate variability (HRV) (the three minute test with your three fingers inside the machine). Changes in daylight and sleep timing can influence our circadian rhythms, making consistent sleep and daily routines especially important during seasonal transitions.
So where can chiropractic care fit in?
Chiropractic care focuses on the relationship between the spine, movement, and the nervous system. When joints and surrounding tissues aren’t moving well, discomfort and restricted movement can make it harder to stay active and maintain healthy routines. Chiropractic care can help address musculoskeletal problems and support normal movement, allowing patients to stay active throughout the changing seasons.
Instead, think of fall as an opportunity to check in with your overall health. Your nervous system is constantly receiving information from your body and environment and coordinating how you move, respond to stress, rest, and recover. Maintaining healthy movement throughout the spine can provide the nervous system with important sensory input while helping you stay active and comfortable as your routine changes. Chiropractic care can be one part of a healthy lifestyle that supports proper movement and function.
This fall, don’t just fall back, instead, fall back into healthy habits!
Systematic review/meta-analysis: Spinal manipulation and autonomic nervous system function, including HRV.
Systematic review: Neurophysiological effects of high-velocity, low-amplitude spinal manipulation.
