Between long school days, homework, extracurricular activities, international conflict, and a global pandemic, children's stress levels are extremely high. Anxiety in youth has almost doubled since the pandemic, according to a major review of research from around the world. It's not just anxiety. Many kids show their increased stress through irritability, anger, or meltdowns.
Additionally, the strain on parents, caregivers, and the professionals who support them has undoubtedly increased as well. Empowering families with knowledge of how the brain works and how to use that information to reduce stress is a powerful way to support children's mental health. These simple, science-based brain hacks can help a child move more easily from chaos to calm.
To understand these hacks, it can be helpful to think of our bodies running like a car with both a gas pedal and a brake pedal. Our nervous system (more specifically, the autonomic nervous system) is made up of the sympathetic nervous system (the gas pedal) and the parasympathetic nervous system (the brake). The gas pedal increases our heart rate, our breathing, and halts digestion while it activates muscles to be ready for action (the fight, flight, or freeze response). The brake is our "rest and digest" system that cools down that fight, flight, or freeze response. It helps us calm down and reset.
When kids are stressed or in "meltdown mode" (fight, flight, or freeze response), the gas pedal is fully activated. They've got pedal to the metal and are revving up fast. In these moments, caregivers and other adults can help children cool down by teaching them how to activate the brake to help calm their breathing, slow their heart rate, and relax their muscles.
With these nervous system hacks, children can become the bosses of their brain! Encourage families to try the following hacks to see what works best for their children:
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Cold water: Drinking ice cold water, having a cold shower, or splashing cold water on your face activates a part of the "braking system" called the vagus nerve. It's a great hack for calming kids quickly and bringing them back to the present moment. Bonus points for using a twisty/bendy straw when drinking. The added effort of sucking through the straw can be extra calming because of the sensory input in provides.
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Singing: The larynx is connected to the vagus nerve, and research has shown that humming and singing can activate the vagus nerve and start pumping the brakes. (There really is something to that yoga "om.")
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Exercising : I know we talk about exercise a lot, but it's because it works and is one of the most underused calming strategies. Yoga, walking, jumping jacks, kicking a soccer ball – all can help calm the nervous system. Rather than spending 20 minutes locked in a battle trying to force a child to go calm down in their room, have them choose a movement activity instead.
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Deep Breaths : Any type of deep, slow, diaphragmatic breathing where you visualize filling up the belly button like a balloon while inhaling and then exhaling slowly, is going to stimulate the vagus nerve and activate the parasympathetic nervous system (the brake).
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Probiotics : Recent research has shown that giving probiotics to mice helped reduce their levels of stress hormones but when their vagus nerve was cut, this effect was no longer there. This suggests that the vagus nerve may be an important pathway for probiotics to help improve stress. Encourage families to talk to their physician to see if probiotics (and which ones) would be appropriate for their child.
Try This : Talk to children about their body's "gas pedal" and "brake pedal." Share the ideas above and have them pick which they would like to experiment with to see if it helps them keep calm and reset.
