I discovered the concept of somatic hygiene somewhat spontaneously while researching self-care practices. The term itself isn’t new, but it isn’t widely appreciated either.
The basic idea of somatic maintenance isn’t new at all. In fact, it predates our species by a long stretch. Living organisms have been regulating and maintaining their internal state since the earliest single-celled life forms. In modern societies, related ideas appear in fields such as somatic therapy, body-based psychology, and other approaches to physical and nervous-system wellness.
While the importance of nervous system regulation is widely understood in science and medicine, the idea of somatic hygiene as an everyday maintenance practice seems underrepresented in both popular and medical literature.
I launched somatic-hygiene.com as a place to explore and exchange ideas about the value of daily nervous system maintenance.
If you’d like to share thoughts or research, contact me at editor@somatic-hygiene.com.
— David Collins