Acupuncture and Hormone Balance
Chapter 8. The Autonomic Nervous System
The autonomic nervous system automatically controls and regulates our vital body functions such as breathing or heart rate according to environmental changes. Even we forget about breathing, our respiratory system continues to work. Although we cannot totally control our autonomic nervous system, we can modulate it mindfully. For instance, if you drink too much coffee, you speed up your heart rate and you may feel more anxious. If you take a sleeping pill, you change your sleeping patterns by altering the activity of the sympathetic nervous system. If you take anti-acid medication, you stop food-induced acid secretion.
The autonomic nervous system consists of the parasympathetic, sympathetic, and enteric nervous systems. These subsystems work together in a Yin and Yang balance, creating homeostasis for good health.
The Parasympathetic Nervous System is responsible for rest, digestion, elimination, sex, and regulating the repair of the body. The Parasympathetic Nervous System also rejuvenates immune function at night during sleep and is closely linked to the timing and release of many key immune hormones and specific immune messengers.
The Sympathetic Nervous System is often called the fight or flight?nervous system because it prepares the body to fight or to flee from danger. When the sympathetic nervous system becomes the dominant branch of the nervous system, blood is diverted away from the internal organs and into the muscles and the periphery of the body to facilitate action. There is an increased utilization of many nutrients and hormones and greater tissue destruction generally takes place as well. It is important to realize that when the sympathetic nervous system is dominant, the functions of the parasympathetic nervous system are proportionally shut down. If this happens too frequently, many vital sympathetic nervous system functions become strained and vital parasympathetic nervous system functions are overly inhibited.
What causes the sympathetic nervous system to become dominant over the other branches of the autonomic nervous system? Intense exercise such as running, excitement, embarrassment, emergencies, low blood sugar, low blood pressure, stress, physical labor, or anything that requires the delivery of more blood flow to the muscles. A basic rule of thumb is that if you are moving or exercising at a pace that is uncomfortable, your sympathetic nervous system becomes stimulated and takes over. Relaxed movements with synchronized breathing, on the other hand, facilitate the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system and thus aid digestion, rest, and rejuvenation. Another important consideration today is that the sympathetic nervous system is easily triggered into action by stimulants, such as coffee, chocolate, soda, simple sugars, and the large quantity of prescription and over-the-counter drugs.