Body Signals
We, as interesting, fascinating, dynamic, smart human beings, quite often ignore signals coming from our bodies. In the ignoring of information and timing of needed behaviours we can run into problems. I started noticing the category of "body signals" about 6 months ago and found, to my surprise, that there are a lot of signals from our bodies and I was ignoring or putting off many of them.
I started being curious with noticing more and then taking the obvious action straight away without thinking about it.
People have been increasingly telling me how they are fatigued and tired. I would tell them to rest. Generally, this recommendation is met with a range of negativity from "that's ridiculous, I'll rest when I'm dead" to "well, I wish I could rest, and here are all the reasons I can't". Rest is also different from sleep.
I started to pay attention to "Do I rest enough during the day?" or am I going from task to task at top possible speed like a mad woman?
The answer was some of both.
The first step, though, was to recognize my body's signal for "Hey! You need a rest". Human beings aren't designed to go, go, go until we drop. It's part of why many people feel overwhelmed much of the time.
Overwhelm is the mental equivalent of peeing your pants.
When you are little and learning to notice your body's signal for going pee or the signal for "I have to poop", there's a natural process of having accidents. We see the consequences of not listening to the signal for pee. And we learn to pay attention to those signals.
In exactly the same way, we have a signal for rest.
In my experiment to become more sensitive to my need for rest or taking a break during the day, I started to notice the feeling earlier and earlier. There was no longer a need for overwhelm (a loud alarm) and I was more productive in less time. Also, I started sleeping better at night when the rest-o-meter was kept in good balance during the day.
As I do, I got curious.
I noticed that there are a lot of body signals. Some I was listening to and some not. I found that the day flowed more and more smoothly the quicker I took action on these signals.
I was ignoring the signal to go pee! Like a little kid, I wanted to do just one more task or "oh in a minute". As if going to the bathroom takes a long time!
I was good with the thirst signal for the most part. Sipping water all day. When I paid attention, I realized that every time I felt a bit thirsty, I reached for the water bottle. I rarely ever got very thirsty or dehydrated.
I am a champion at ignoring hunger. And then I get grumpy or have a hard time focusing. You're hungry silly! Eating a bit fixes that up.
Another big one is the feeling of stress or tension in the body. It's actually the signal for "you're overthinking". I'm coming to the understanding that stress doesn't actually exist. It's only a body signal, like having to pee, that tells us to correct our current action. Wind ourselves down.
I asked my daughter if she could think of any others. Here are her additions to the list:
Feeling the need to move one's body
Feeling the need to be around people and friends
Cuteness aggression (this is an 11-year-old girl thing)
See what you notice for yourself: What body signals are you good at paying attention to and which are you ignoring? Then if you are up for an experiment, see what happens if you stop ignoring your body signals. Or just notice them more.
More later on how stress is not a thing. And much more on rest and sleep.