The Parasympathetic Nervous System
The autonomic nervous system is the part of the nervous system that controls and regulates the internal organs without any conscious effort by the organism. The autonomic nervous system is comprised of two opposite sets of nerves, the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Both of which are responsible for the involuntary functions of the human body. Although I will be discussing the parasympathetic nervous system.
The parasympathetic nervous system works in opposition to the sympathetic nervous system, alerting the rest and digest responses. These responses fix the energy that was reduced in the previous sympathetic activity. Some of these responses can include digesting food, crying, or salivating.
The parasympathetic nerves emerge in the middle of the spinal column extending to the central nervous system. The axons of this system are long and extend throughout the rest of the body. Since these nerves originate in the spinal column, it does not typically require conscious thought to create a reaction. Without the parasympathetic nervous system, the monitoring and regulation of everyday body processes would be impossible. It plays a vital role in maintaining both mental and physical health by helping the body to calm down from stress reactions, decreasing blood pressure, and altering energy from other body processes to indicate flight or flight response.
The parasympathetic nervous system is something we react to everyday. Sometimes our stress is caused by something psychological. It could even be from anxious feelings from an upcoming deadline or trying to get to work during a busy rush hour. Disregarding the cause of the stress, high levels of anxiety also cause the human body to release stress hormones. These hormones result in changes that range from a pounding heart, quickening of breathing, and sweating. All of the body’s combined reactions to stress are known as the fight or flight response. In my life, I suffer from stress daily. Whether it be something small like talking to new people or even something big like taking an exam, stress floods my entire world. However, knowing how to manage this stress is something I have been able to excel with.
I took my first ever college exam 2 days ago. I started studying a week before the exam and even stayed up late the night before to make sure I knew everything as perfect as I could. When I woke up the next morning, I was sweating and shaking. My hands were clammy and I felt the knot in my stomach grow tighter and tighter as each minute passed by. Once I arrived at my classroom I was shaking but I knew I had to calm myself down in order to do well on my exam. I stood outside, took a drink of water, a deep breathe, and stepped inside. By doing this, I was demonstrating the rest and digest, parasympathetic nervous system. This system teaches us to calm down from stress. I was able to relax myself as well as understand everything would go well. From being able to relax, I was able to excel better on my exam and this technique helps me grow as a person in everyday life.