Promoting a sense of visceral safety would get the best out of academics

The current climate of crisis in UK and US higher education is stressful for many academics. Heightened uncertainty and a pervasive sense of risk sit on top of a working life that is already hard on the nervous system, with high workloads, frequent deadlines, fierce competition and – above all – constant evaluation and scrutiny.

As neuroscientist Stephen Porges observes, “universities are not structured to make faculty feel safe and secure.” Here, safety means not so much protection from harm or offence but the visceral sense that our nervous systems can relax and we can operate freely.

Humans share with other mammals an intricate physiological response system that, below conscious awareness, continuously evaluates safety and danger. Polyvagal theory, which Porges developed, describes how our autonomic nervous system constantly scans the environment for cues of safety or threat and shifts our bodily state accordingly. When we feel safe, connected and at ease, our physiology invites openness: creativity, collaboration, learning. When we sense threat, our body’s automatic defence systems activate. We either mobilise through fight or flight – or, if that fails, we shut down.

Symptoms of defensive activation are everywhere in academic life. They go beyond high-stakes moments when everyone naturally feels stressed, and beyond the discomfort inherent in having one’s claims and ideas assessed and challenged. Despite efforts to stay outwardly calm, kind, and productive, many academics are chronically on edge. This may show up as vigilance during meetings, awkwardness at conferences, blocks while writing, frustration with research admin, shrinking into notes when teaching, bracing when opening emails, or in many other ways.

You might say that defensiveness is inevitable in a competitive environment, and that the robustness to endure it is part of the skill set that academics need to acquire if they are to survive. Yet in equally competitive sectors such as elite sports, the military and schools in high-stress social environments, research shows that investing in physiological safety can enhance performance and learning. And the same, we believe, would be true in universities. By designing academic spaces with awareness of how nervous systems work, we can boost both academic well-being and academic performance.

The issue, to be clear, is not that university life is challenging or that performance pressure exists. This isn’t an argument for utopian overhaul. It is an argument for incremental change, based on a hopeful, strategic vision that recognises that fostering visceral safety strengthens well-being and the capacity to do great work.

The more academics feel viscerally at ease, the more access they have to their cognitive, creative and social abilities. People who feel safe are more willing to take intellectual risks, more receptive to constructive criticism and more capable of sustained creativity. All these contribute directly to universities’ capacity for excellence in research, teaching and impact.

People who feel viscerally safe are also more likely to have a stabilising effect on their work environment. Nervous systems pick up cues about safety and danger from other nervous systems. When many bodies in a space are primed for threat, it becomes increasingly difficult for others to remain in a state of safety and connection. These systemic effects are felt in the culture of a department, university or academic field. But they can also go the other way.

Suggestions for improving academic life typically target either structural issues or individual strategies. Yet structural changes can feel beyond anyone’s reach, while making individuals solely responsible for coping with structural conditions is manifestly unfair. Foregrounding what we might call “academia’s nervous system” offers a way to bridge this divide by focusing on how we design and engage in academic spaces. Thinking through the lens of visceral safety helps us recognise everyday choices and actions that already support nervous systems, while sparking ideas for new ones.

One accessible strategy is for people in a position of influence to invest in warmth and hospitality. Meetings can be more thoughtfully hosted, for instance. We can implement changes that allow bodies to feel more at ease rather than expect them to brave the risk of humiliation, overcome uncertainty about how to engage or even just endure physical discomfort, such as being cold, cramped or sitting without a break for a long period.

Communication can also be more respectful. Whenever we notice ourselves treating others as mere functionaries, we can remind ourselves of their humanity and the fact that honesty and empathy tend to get the best results, including in how our bodies unconsciously respond.

Bureaucratic procedures can also be critically examined. Whenever leaders are about to impose burdensome compliance or demands for justification, they should ask if it’s worth tipping the collective nervous system further towards defence.

A second strategy is for individuals to consciously work with their own nervous systems – what clinician Deb Dana calls “befriending the nervous system”. We can learn to notice and keep track of our ever-changing bodily states without judgement, recognising when we feel activated for defence, as well as when we feel safe. Paying respectful attention to these states helps regulate the nervous system towards safety, thereby supporting personal well-being. And it acts as grassroots action: as more people do it, the positive effects multiply, helping to create more welcoming academic environments for others.

Better visceral safety is not an impossible dream or an invitation to soft-pedalling mediocrity. It is achievable, it is humane and it is strategically advantageous, transforming universities into spaces that optimally support the work academics are hired to do.

Catelijne Coopmans is a coach and former interdisciplinary scholar, teacher and curriculum developer. Catherine Montgomery is a senior lecturer and chancellor’s fellow in science, technology and innovation studies at the University of Edinburgh.