Page 53 - My Health Bible 1
P. 53

My HealtH BiBle 1


                          THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM

                             NOT INFLUENCED BY OUR WILL



                     Almost all unconscious functions and processes in the body





             Breathing                                          Digestion
                      Heart beat                          Sleep
                               Energy            Temperature
                                      Metabolism

                Fig.3. The functions controlled by the Autonomic Nervous System
                                          (ANS)




                 The Sympathetic part of our autonomic nervous system is the
             part that allows us to take action in situations such as fright, running
             away, running, fighting, performing sports, i.e. especially in situations
             of physical performance.
                 The blood must then go as much as possible to our limbs (arms
             and legs), to our heart to pump blood faster to the periphery (hands
             and feet) to help our body move optimally; to our eyes to see where
             we are going. It is also very important that our lungs get enough blood
             to be able to absorb a lot of oxygen and move, run, walk faster and
             more efficiently.
                 The Sympathetic part of our nervous system stimulates and controls
             the catabolic processes in the body. As Eastern philosophies might
             say, it is the Yang of the autonomic nervous system. This means that
             when this part of the autonomic nervous system is working, the body
             is using what was assimilated when the parasympathetic was in action.


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