The Power of the Downstate
I recently read The Power of the Downstate: Recharge Your Life Using Your Body’s Own Restorative Systems by Sara Mednick, a sleep researcher from from UC Irvine. It is chock full of information very similar to what I used to create my new model at Optimize Wellness.
But if you don’t have time to read the 273-page book, this post can serve as a recap of some of the most important ideas.
Your autonomic nervous system has two states—Sympathetic and Parasympathetic. Dr. Mednick calls the Sympathetic Nervous System your REV state while the Parasympathetic Nervous System is your RESTORE state. Society today really pushes for a lot of REV—get things done, workout, do this, do that, be productive—and hardly any RESTORE. Instead of truly dropping into a restorative, rejuvenating nervous system state, we tend to entertain and distract ourselves in ways that don’t give the body what it truly needs (like a glass of wine at the end of a long day, which makes you feel relaxed but doesn’t truly restore your brain nor body, or watching TV or scrolling social media which entertains and distracts but doesn’t repair and heal).
Skipping the restorative power of the parasympathetic nervous system for a lifetime leads to a lot of the wear and tear we attribute to aging. In fact, Dr. Mednick says “autonomic imbalance is at the heart of the aging process.” Rather than experience a slow decline from poor repair, this book encourages you to prioritize the downstate. “You are not being lazy when you focus on recovery.”
“A dominant REV hastens aging, from the skin on in. Autonomic imbalance predisposes you to wrinkles as cortisol ramps up the aging process.”
The truth of the matter is that much of the doing of our lives is not where the magic happens. You don’t really learn when you’re in school. Those memories are actually processed, solidified, and stored while you sleep. You don’t actually get stronger when you exercise. You break down tissues during your workout, and it’s when you’re in a parasympathetic state that you heal them. You need to have a balance of REV and RESTORE, or what Dr. Mednick also calls the Upstate and the Downstate. “Having a downstate practice supports your upstate.” The better you are at rejuvenating, the more energy and ability you’ll have when you want it.
This is why the lessons at Optimize Wellness include 55-minutes of Pilates followed by 15-minutes of a variety of strategies that help encourage the flipping on of the parasympathetic nervous system state, including breathing techniques and HeartMath biofeedback of your heart rate variability or HRV (which Dr. Mednick uses herself and recommends). I agree about the utmost importance of the downstate, the parasympathetic nervous system, the rest and repair and restore systems of the body. It’s not enough to know that they’re important—we have to practice them regularly. And when we do, we give our body a chance to not only repair and heal, but to also restock resources, connect ideas, change blood flow, and “tee you up for the next challenge.”
Sunrise and sunset are crucial times for setting your circadian rhythms. This is sunset on the Greek island of Milos.
One of the most important ways to support your restorative processes is to train strong circadian rhythms by controlling your light environment, spending more time outside (especially in the morning), reducing artificial light at night, and prioritizing sleep with a bedtime no later than 10:00pm. “Many of your most critical biological processes rely on this millennia old structure of day and night.” Similarly to what Optimize recommends, Dr. Mednick also suggests only eating during daylight hours and front-loading your day with your calories (eating more in the morning and midday, with dinner being the smallest meal).
“Your body craves routine. Every cell in every organ has a clock that is looking for a consistent schedule to sync up to.”
Another easily accissible way to increase your downstate is to change your breathing rate. The average person takes 10-20 breaths per minute. Twenty breaths in a minute means only 1.5 seconds per inhale and 1.5 seconds per exhale—a very short, shallow, barely sufficient breath. When you slow your breathing rate to six breaths per minute—a 5 second inhale and a 5 second exhale—the heart and lungs find their resonant frequency, you get better oxygenation, and you turn on your parasympathetic nervous system. It also increases your HRV, as many of you have seen in the HeartMath tracings from your Optimize sessions. Dr. Mednick thinks this is so important that she recommends practicing slow, deep breathing for ten minutes every day. The way we practice Pilates at Optimize often slows and deepens your breath as well.
Since Dr. Mednick is a sleep researcher, she obviously thinks sleep is really important for helping you recharge. In fact, she says in chapter 4 that “sleep disturbance is one of the first signs that something isn’t right with your body or mind.” Chronically poor sleep is strongly associated with anxiety, depression, attention and memory deficits, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, dimentia, Alzheimer’s disease, and all-cause mortality. This is why Optimize offers lifestyle coaching to help improve your sleep. It’s as important if not more important than your workouts. Only during deep sleep do you release the growth hormone necessary for cell reproduction and regeneration, as well as a range of restorative processes. The best way to get more deep sleep? Have strong circadian rhythms, avoid blue light after sunset, and go to bed early. “If you push your bedtime back, you miss out on the very important, highly downstatey first sleep cycle, which is naturally programmed to occur a couple hours after sunset.” In addition to the release of growth hormone, while you sleep, your brain’s Glymphatic System (the lymphatic system of the brain via the glial cells) power washes your brain, clearing it of toxins and amyloid beta proteins that build up into the plaques that cause Alzheimer’s and dementia after a lifetime of ineffective sleep.
“Exercisers sleep better, full stop.”
Another fantastic way to support your sleep is exercise! "Comparing the magnitude of sleep improvement from sleeping pills versus exercise, researchers report that exercise produces the same and even greater benefits.” Exercise increases the length and intensity of slow wave sleep, the sleep that offers some of the best downstate benefits. Consistent exercise also reduces inflammation. In fact, people who engage in physical activity 20x/month (four times per week) enjoyed a 40% reduction in CRP levels (a marker for inflammation) compared to people who only exercises 3-4x/month. Another study found a 70% reduced chance of early death in people who walked 9,000 steps/day.
One of my favorite downstate activities is walks in nature. Dr. Mednick doesn’t mention earthing, but this is another great way to engage your parasympathetic nervous system and barefoot walking on the beach is one of the best ways to earth!
“To live your most satisfying, productive, and enjoyable life, you need to replenish your resources regularly.” This book, as well as coaching and Pilates sessions at Optimize, help teach you how to do that. In a society that is go, go, go, we need to pause and recharge regularly—for at least eight hours every night in high quality sleep, but also throughout the day by syncing up our rhythms to that of nature’s, with slow, deep breathing, by paying attention to your light environment especially after sunset, and by limiting time with screens and technology (“all tech should stay out of the bedroom, period.”), as well as on weekends, where you prioritize recharging and not just running errands and getting ready for the week ahead.
“The key to success lies in finding the motivation within,” Dr. Mednick says. Optimize Wellness is here to help you find the motivation, build the healthy habits, recharge your body, mind, and spirit, and live your life optimally!
“The Downstate is fundamental for your survival and the foundation for your greatness.”