This doesn’t make sense

I’m having a hard time with this question: according to Nicole Sach‘s book Mind Your Body, my brain is giving me symptoms in order to put me into a repair and rest mode. How does that make sense, when the symptoms it is giving me make it difficult to rest? The symptoms I got today (a sense wooziness and tingling across my chest and arms) have made me quite tired, so I came home and tried to take a nap just for some relief. Unfortunately, it would never really let me fall asleep.

I jokingly told my wife that I would rather have one of the other symptoms today, and she asked which one. I said the one where my foot tingles. And guess what, about two hours later, guess what started?

 

When the brain creates symptoms (pain, fatigue, dizziness) to force a protective “stop and repair” mode — it’s trying to reduce activity and free resources for recovery — but those same symptoms are produced by the nervous system’s alarm circuits, so they grab attention, increase vigilance and worry, and can feel activating rather than restful. Primary structures involved are the brainstem, hypothalamus, amygdala and prefrontal cortex; these areas detect threat, shift body energy and produce alarm signals (pain, fatigue, hyper-vigilance). Regularly calming the alarm with, for example, regulated breathing, grounding, or a short body‑scan (see below for some sample ideas of how to do this), reframing the symptom as protective rather than dangerous, pacing activity to avoid push–crash cycles, and prioritising sleep or low‑demand rest help the prefrontal cortex down‑regulate the alarm so the brain will allow true repair.

Breathe gently: inhale for 3–4 seconds and exhale for 6–8 seconds (or use equal 4–4 if that’s easier) for 2–5 minutes to calm the nervous system.

Ground yourself with 5‑4‑3‑2‑1 (name 5 things you see, 4 you can touch, 3 you hear, 2 you smell, 1 you taste) or hold a textured object and describe it to bring attention to the present.

Do a short body‑scan by slowly noticing sensations from head to toe, 5–15 seconds per area, without trying to change anything—finish with one slow full breath.

Hope this explains/helps.

 

@BloodMoon alluded to this - but I look at it like the symptom is trying to get you away from danger - having you go home and nap (even try to nap, doesn't need to be successful), it has accomplished its goal. That's a form of rest and repair in and of itself (it doesn't necessarily need to involve sleep).