Anyone who’s soothed a fussing baby knows that gentle rocking often does the trick. The vestibular (balance-related) stimulation that rocking creates is certainly a part of that.
Equally important is the rhythm that comes with rocking. That’s because rhythm, when steady and comfortably paced, has a calming effect on the human nervous system, and a regulating effect on the human brain.
What this rhythmic movement actually regulates is the lower, more primitive region of the brain: the brainstem.
The brainstem comes from our reptilian ancestors. Not only is it the first region to develop, but throughout our lives it acts as the gateway for most incoming and outgoing transmissions. This means that very little travels to or from the higher regions without going through the brainstem.
Share This Post!
From Supporter to Steward
Your Content Goes Here Source: Raymond James Financial, Inc. Estate & Giving Why board leadership is one of the most impactful ways to give back Philanthropy is often measured in dollars, [...]
How do trauma and adverse childhood experiences affect children?
CHOC Your Content Goes Here Source: CHOC Childhood should be a time of safety, growth, and discovery—but for many children, it’s marked by trauma, instability, or neglect. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), [...]
Arrests of immigrant parents create mental health crisis for children
Damian Zermeño talks to his father over video chat. Saúl Zermeño, a single parent, was deported to Mexico in October after living 36 years in the United States. Karla Gachet for KFF Health News [...]
Risk and Protective Factors
Your Content Goes Here Source: CDC Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are not often caused by a single factor. Instead, a combination of factors at the individual, relationship, community, and societal levels can [...]
We’re therapists. Here’s why it’s too soon for kids to return to Camp Mystic.
Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News CSF written article Your Content Goes Here Source: Houston Chronicle Less than a year after the deadly July 4 flood, Camp Mystic plans to reopen its Cypress Lake location, not [...]
Women who experience trauma are twice as likely as men to develop PTSD. Here’s why
Your Content Goes Here Source: American Psychological Association More than half of all women will be exposed to at least one traumatic event in their lifetime, according to the National Center [...]