Why You Feel Relaxed (and a Bit Floaty) After a Chiropractic Treatment.
One of the most common questions I get at follow-up appointments is this:
"Is it normal to feel sleepy, relaxed, or even a little floaty after a treatment?"
The short answer is yes. Absolutely. And there’s a fascinating reason behind it.
Your Nervous system is involved
One of the most powerful effects of chiropractic care is its ability to influence your autonomic nervous system (ANS)—the part of your nervous system that runs automatically in the background, controlling things like your heart rate, breathing, digestion, pupil size, and even your response to stress.
When your body interprets an adjustment as helpful or healing, it can shift your nervous system from a state of “fight or flight” into “rest and digest.” That shift is what creates that calm, peaceful, slightly floaty sensation after a session.
What’s happening during an adjustment?
Let’s break it down simply.
When I perform an adjustment, I’m working on a specific part of your spine called the facet joint complex. These joints help your spine bend, twist, and move in different directions. Surrounding these joints is a small, sock-like structure called the joint capsule—and this capsule is packed with tiny nerve endings.
These nerve endings are sensitive to things like stretch, pressure, movement, temperature, and even certain chemicals. When stimulated, say, through an adjustment, they send signals to the spinal cord and then on to your brain.
Your brain receives this information and does two things:
It forms a conscious interpretation (like “that felt good”).
It forms an unconscious interpretation that influences your autonomic nervous system.
Why pain changes your autonomic state.
If you’re in pain, your nervous system often leans toward the sympathetic side of the spectrum—that’s your fight, flight, or freeze response. This state increases your alertness, tightens your muscles, and raises your sensitivity to pain.
It’s kind of like your body has turned up the internal volume on everything.
Think of it like this:
On a chilled-out day by the pool, you might rate your pain as a 2/10.
But after a stressful day, lots of sitting, or a long-haul flight? That same pain might feel like a 7 or 8 out of 10.
How an adjustment turns the volume down.
When we adjust a joint, we stimulate those nerve endings in the capsule. That stimulation sends mechanical information—called afferent input—up to your brain. When the brain interprets that input as therapeutic or pleasant, it helps shift you back toward the parasympathetic state: rest, recovery, and healing.
That’s why you might leave feeling relaxed, like your body just exhaled. You might sleep more deeply that night or feel like you’re floating through the rest of your day. That’s not just in your head—it’s your nervous system doing exactly what it’s designed to do.
It’s Not Just the Adjustment
Other hands-on treatments—like soft tissue work, dry needling, or even focused breathing—can have a similar effect, if your brain interprets them as safe and healing. The magic lies in how your body processes these inputs.
In short, that relaxed, floaty feeling isn’t a coincidence. It’s a sign that your body is shifting into a relaxed parasympathetic state where healing will commence.