The parasympathetic nervous system is to the sympathetic nervous system as
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Chelsea Long, MS, CSCS, an exercise physiologist at the HSS Tisch Sports Performance Center and HSS Sports Rehabilitation and Performance – West Side, explains how the parasympathetic nervous system works, why it’s important and how you can tell if yours is functioning properly. Show
What is the parasympathetic nervous system?The parasympathetic nervous system is part of the body’s autonomic nervous system. Its partner is the sympathetic nervous system, which control’s the body’s fight or flight response. The parasympathetic nervous system controls the body’s ability to relax. It's sometimes called the "rest and digest" state. It helps maintain daily functions like your resting heart rate, which is your heart rate while your body is at rest; your metabolism; and your resting bronchial constriction, which affects your breathing rate. It essentially keeps you in a relaxed state. What role does the parasympathetic nervous system play in stress response?Right now, there are many things causing people stress that are neurological or psychological in nature, that are making the body feel like it’s fight-or-flight time. Standing up in front of a room for a presentation, missing a Zoom call, a late train that makes you late for work—all of that creates chaos in your sympathetic nervous system, causing the body to feel like it’s in danger. That high level of stress keeps your heart rate elevated, dilates your pupils, raises your blood pressure and keeps everything in your body on high alert. The parasympathetic nervous system does something called downregulating. It mainly functions using a nerve called the vagus nerve, which sends impulses from the brain to the body but also back from the body to the brain. In essence, your parasympathetic nervous system tells your brain what’s happening, instead of your brain telling your body what to do. If this system is functioning well, it reduces your risk of cardiac heart disease and stroke; increases your digestive metabolism, so it’s better for your gut; and decreases migraines. It will also give you better emotional and overall physical health, and possibly even a longer life span. How do you know if your parasympathetic nervous system is working properly?One good test can be done if you have a heart rate monitor handy. Look at your resting heart rate, take a deep breath in and hold it, and note how high your heart rate increases—say, 20 beats per minute. When you exhale, if your heart rate drops back down to your resting heart rate pretty quickly, then your parasympathetic nervous system is working very well. If you inhale and your heart rate jumps and stays high, that means your body is in a higher state of stress and your parasympathetic nervous system is not jumping in to downregulate. You could be overly fatigued or experiencing a high level of stress at work or at home. You could be overtraining when you’re exercising. Your body is on go-go-go mode, and your parasympathetic nervous system doesn’t know how to stop that stress. Can you improve how your parasympathetic nervous system functions?There are many ways to practice using your parasympathetic nervous system. These include mild exercise, meditation, yoga, deep breathing from your diaphragm, even nature walks. For some people, traditional meditation isn’t their thing. It’s about finding your body’s way of meditating, what helps you to decompress. Maybe you need a bath or to book a massage. If you like reading, read a book. Playing music can be a good way of relaxing and tuning in to shut off most of your other senses. Whatever it is, it shouldn’t involve anything that stresses you out. Even a 5-minute comedy video that gives you a deep belly laugh—whatever makes you feel positive energy reinforces the parasympathetic nervous system. Hopefully it’s in a calming environment that can help your body decompress and relax. How does exercise affect the parasympathetic nervous system?Exercise increases endorphins, the happy hormones. Those happy hormones signal your body that you’re not in physical danger. When you’re exercising, the sympathetic nervous system is working and helping to elevate your heart rate, but the parasympathetic nervous system is regulating how high your heart rate goes. If you exercise at a high intensity, you don’t want your heart rate jumping uncontrollably. There should be a gradual increase, along with a gradual increase in blood pressure, sweat rate and breathing rate. All of that is maintained by the parasympathetic nervous system. If you’re not warming up correctly, or if you’re in a constant state of stress outside of exercising, then the sympathetic nervous system is going to take over and continually keep that heart rate high. That’s when you see people with high resting heart rates, high blood pressure and an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. It’s also important to make sure you’re doing a cooldown, because that’s your body’s ability to prepare for what’s next. If you don’t have a cooldown and your heartbeat is still at, say, 95 beats per minute, and you go jump in the shower, your heart rate is going to stay up there. It doesn’t have the time to come down and tell your body that your workout is over, and now it’s on to the next thing. That it’s not the same stress. Your body needs to realize that, but it can only do that if you tell it to. What if your heart rate or blood pressure stays high even after a cooldown?If someone’s resting heart rate and blood pressure are constantly elevated, then seeing a doctor would probably be important to make sure that nothing requires medical attention or medication. You may also need to get a physical or a stress test prior to starting an intense exercise routine. You should also see a doctor if your resting heart rate is above 100 beats per minute, unless you’ve already been diagnosed with a high resting heart rate. You don’t want your heart working overtime when you’re just sitting down. What is parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system?The sympathetic system controls “fight-or-flight” responses. In other words, this system prepares the body for strenuous physical activity. The events that we would expect to occur within the body to allow this to happen do, in fact, occur. The parasympathetic system regulates “rest and digest” functions.
What is the relationship between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems quizlet?The sympathetic nervous system arouses the body and expends energy. It is responsible for our fight and flight response. The parasympathetic nervous system calms the body and conserves energy. It is responsible for our rest and digest response.
What is sympathetic and parasympathetic quizlet?The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is one of two main divisions of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Its general action is to mobilize the body's fight-or-flight response. Function of the Parasympathetic Nervous System. Control the body's response while at rest.
Where is the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system?Nerve fibers from these ganglia connect with internal organs. Most of the ganglia for the sympathetic division are located just outside the spinal cord on both sides of it. The ganglia for the parasympathetic division are located near or in the organs they connect with.
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