Have you heard of your autonomic nervous system (ANS)? No? Don’t worry, I hadn’t until a couple of years ago. Basically, it’s part of our nervous system that controls and regulates our internal organs. Sounds boring, I know, so why am I talking about it? I’m talking about it because it is crucial in understanding student behaviours and supporting mental health and wellbeing.
There are two main parts to the ANS. The first part is the sympathetic system which has a major role in how we respond to dangerous or stressful situations – any situation that we perceive as threatening in some way, and not just physically. When we feel threatened, and we release stress chemicals, it also triggers our reflex fight, flight, freeze responses which affect our behaviours. We can often misunderstand these reflex responses, we just think that they are literally fighting, running away or freezing like a spider when it thinks someone is looking. But there are many other behaviours linked and also more reflex responses.
Fight
Fighting is being physically aggressive but can also be shouting and confrontational. It can also be seen when someone is very competitive, or someone who is unable to hear another point of view and won’t let someone else speak. Being controlling of other people can be a fight response. Fight can also be disruptive confrontational behaviour when a student feels slighted or ‘shown up’ in some way.
Flight
Flight isn’t just about running away; it’s also avoiding situations in the first place. Flight can look like disruptive behaviour in order to get thrown out of class.
Freeze
Freeze can be ignoring an instruction and refusing to move. It can also look like selective mutism, or daydreaming. Someone who is unable to make decisions or procrastinates could be a freeze response – if I don’t do anything then it won’t be wrong. I worked with a student who refused to take exams, that way he couldn’t be criticised for the result.
Friend
This response is the most often misunderstood. It’s where somebody smiles or laughs when feeling threatened. Fight or flight isn’t their usual reaction, so they laugh or smile. A student who smiles when being reprimanded isn’t disrespectful. They’re feeling threatened. Think about how many times as adults we laugh at inappropriate times – we can’t deal with the intensity of the situation, so we laugh.
Fawn
Finally, there’s fawn where someone goes out of their way to please others, to not make them angry. Think of the student who continually asks, ‘Is this ok miss?’ ‘Am I doing this right miss?’ It can be annoying, but it is a reflex action. If you look closely, you can see these responses in the majority of disruptive student behaviour.
The second part of the ANS, and the good part, is the parasympathetic system, which tells our body to relax and heal. 75% of the parasympathetic system is in our vagus nerve which I’m sure many of you have heard of. The vagus nerve is in the neck and is our longest cranial nerve. The vagus nerve is so important to our mental health and physical health and regular stimulation improves both. There is also a great deal of research showing vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) improves the success of interventions and neural development of children, including SEN children.
So how does VNS happen?* There are a wide range of ways that have been proved by research, and many of them are already recommended as being good for us. They also don’t cost a lot of money so be wary of someone trying to sell you something expensive to do it.
Acupuncture – speaks for itself. Similar is Emotional Freedom Technique also known as tapping – you tap key points on your head and body and you can make affirmations at the same time.
Music therapy – listening to music with a slow tempo, also humming and singing. Food – omega 3 fatty acids.
Polyphenols – berries, herbs and spices, cocoa powder, nuts, flaxseeds, vegetables, olives, coffee and tea. Mediterranean diet. Soy oil. Sugar (don’t hate it).
Physical activity – yoga, stretching, aerobic exercise, Tai Chi.
Therapeutic – massages, hypnosis, meditation.
Other people – social interactions, laughter, compassion, prayer.
Cold – cold water swimming, ice helmets, immersing most of face in cold water for several seconds, cold showers.
Hydrotherapy – warm water baths, aquatic therapy, steam baths, foot baths and so on.
TENS machines – using an ear clip with a TENS machine, daily for 15 minutes at a level you are comfortable with. *Great Ormond Street have issued guidance on how effective this is for pain relief in children.
Vitamin B12 – fish, meat, poultry, eggs and dairy, foods fortified with B12.
Others – deep breathing, crying emotional tears.
So, there you have it, a brief introduction to your ANS. Be aware of it for yourself as well as children you work with. And next time someone tells you off for eating chocolate cake, tell them to leave you alone, you’re stimulating your vagus nerve.
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