How to Practice Patience: The Neuroscience of Slowing Down
Post Summary
Rushing through life floods the body with stress chemicals and keeps us trapped in survival mode. This article breaks down the neuroscience behind why patience matters for your brain, your health, and your ability to focus. It explains how slowing down rewires your nervous system and offers daily practices to help you reset, regulate, and stay present.
What if chasing what you want is actually pushing it further away?
Did you know that neuroscience shows patience is a regulation tool, not just a virtue? Slowing down signals to the brain that we are safe, connected, and able to make higher functioning decisions versus operating from a constant state of survival.
Alternatively, the cost of speed short-circuits the very can the very systems designed to help us think clearly, and create a life that is both meaningful and sustainable. We are at risk of anxiety, depression, chronic stress, and burnout. Practicing patience allows us to regulate ourselves and reset our internal systems without needing to compromise our health.
The Brain on Overdrive – What Happens When We Rush
The Stress Response and Cortisol Flood
Living in a state of constant urgency sends the message to our nervous system that we are in danger. In response, our internal systems move from threat to reaction as survival mechanisms kick in. Our sympathetic nervous system (designed to react to perceived or real threat) goes offline, cortisol and adrenaline flood the body, our heart rate increases, and our focus narrows. Additional consequences include anxiety, paranoia, inflammation, sleep problems, and emotional exhaustion as we begin to break down.
Reward-Seeking vs. Regulation
We seek instant gratification and chase after dopamine (the feel good chemical tied to reward and accomplishment). Every task we check off our neverending todo list gives us a tiny hit, and the resulting satisfaction leaves us chasing it even more. This dopamine loop can hijack attention and burn mental energy, depleting the prefrontal cortex-the part of the brain responsible for logic, control, and planning.
Contrasted with deliberate, present-focused thinking, patience interrupts this loop. We are able to pause, take a breath, and be present as chemicals in our bodies begin to drop back to normal levels. Dopamine finds balance with serotonin and oxytocin - the neurochemicals that are responsible for contentment, trust, and connection. We are safe in our bodies once again.
An added benefit to practicing patience is that when we are faced with a real threat (not just a perceived one) we are able to react more efficiently and effectively due to having a regulated system versus a rundown one.
The Neuroscience Behind Patience
What Patience Does to the Brain
Patience activates the prefrontal cortex, improves focus and impulse control. It also helps calm the amygdala (the emotion and fear center part of the brain), and allows us more presence. This results in more mindfulness that creates neural pathways in the brain for calm and clarity, helping us restore internal order and feel more in control of our lives.
Becoming less reactive, we are able to expand our vision beyond the tasks in front of us and make better (and more meaningful) decisions.
Slowing Down = Signaling Safety
In order to reset our systems we need to be able to activate the parasympathetic nervous system (the rest and digest system), or what is commonly referred to as the part of the nervous system that operates as the brake. When this occurs we feel more creative, emotionally grounded, and are capable of better decision making. Over time, the brain is rewired by new messages of calm, safety, and allows us to grow and expand. Stability and confidence replace urgency, whereas presence and balance replace a constant sense of overwhelm.
5 Daily Ways to Practice Patience (Backed by Science)
Thanks to neuroplasticity, we are able to create new neuropathways through our practice of patience. As we regulate our brain and body and stay out of the amygdala! We have greater access to our higher functioning brain, allowing us to operate more efficiently, act versus react, and experience the benefits of delayed gratification. Repetition is key, and here are some ideas on how you can begin to change your brain and become more patient.
Set daily pace checkpoints – Ask: “Am I rushing or responding?”
Use breath to regulate – How 3-5 slow breaths reduce cortisol immediately
Mindful transitions – Treat moving from one task to the next as a reset
Delay gratification by 10 minutes – Trains the brain’s impulse control
Practice observational journaling – Increases self-awareness of triggers
Allowing vs. Chasing – Reframing the Hustle Mentality
Relentless pursuit can signal lack to the brain due to the messages bombarding our brains. Messages such as we don’t have enough (fill in the blank), that we are not enough, and that we are in constant danger. The ensuing scarcity mindset keeps us focused on what we don’t have versus what we do. Shifting to allowing mode aligns with long-term regulation and clarity as we move into abundance thinking. We are able to breathe more deeply and trust our process of evolving--trusting timing isn’t passive-it’s regulated action.
When we are patient, we are able to reflect on what we have achieved, the good in our lives, and practice a deeper sense of felt gratitude.
Final Thoughts – What If Patience Is the Shortcut?
Slowing down creates more clarity, energy, and results. Ask yourself: where in your life are you signaling urgency when you could be practicing patience?
Take a moment and reflect: What’s one part of your day you can slow down today?
