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Hypothalamus And The Sympathetic Nervous System

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Stress can do many things to your body. It affects the nervous system, the heart and hormones just to name a few. Our body reviews all situations and decides whether or not it is stressful. This decision is made based on sensory input and processing and also on stored memories. The stress response begins in the brain. The hypothalamus in the brain is in charge of the stress response. When a stress response is triggered, it sends signals to two other structures the pituitary gland, and the adrenal medulla. Then, the fight-or-flight reaction kicks in. The fight- or- flight a physiological change that increases the heart rate, arterial blood pressure, and blood glucose, initiated by the sympathetic nervous system (SNS).

How the nervous system reacts to stress …show more content…

The central division involves the brain and spinal cord and the peripheral division consisting of the autonomic and somatic nervous systems. The autonomic nervous system (ANS) has a direct role in physical response to stress and is divided into the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). When the body is stressed, the SNS generates what is known as the "fight or flight" response. The body moves all of its energy resources to fighting off a life threat, or fleeing from an enemy. Then the SNS signals the adrenal glands to release hormones called cortisol and adrenalin. These hormones cause the heart to beat faster, blood vessels in the arms and legs to dilate, respiration rate to increase, digestive process to change and glucose levels in the bloodstream to

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Often called the fight or flight reflex, stress has been known to save people’s lives, whether it be on a battlefield or some dangerous situation back home. Too much stress ultimately leads to health problems, but too little stress isn’t good for us either. When we go too long without a sharp stimulating response, the body loses its ability to handle stress properly (Tom Scheve, 2009). Somewhere between too much, and too little stress can actually be good for you, helping you perform under pressure. It is when someone cannot turn off that fight or flight feeling that it begins to show its negative effects.

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When presented with uncertainty about a decision, or perceiving a threat to survival such as having to swing around a horizontally metal 1-inch pole’s axis completely with nothing to hold on to other than your hands, physiological changes in the body occur (known as the ‘fight-or-flight’ response) that are known to excite the sympathetic-division of the autonomic nervous-system into a ‘hyper-aroused’ state which is described to be “a non-specific response” to stress by Selye (1979) [reference to textbook case study on pg243]. Continuing on with Selye’s pioneered research on ‘stress’, he was able to distinguish between two different responses to ‘stress’ – a negative response would be labeled ‘distress’ and can be seen in worrying situations;

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The two branches of the ANS system are SNS which stands for sympathetic nervous system and the PNS which stands for parasympathetic nervous system. The SNS triggers the “fight or flight” response, it originated in the spinal cord. SNS prepares the body to put our energy and to protect it from effects of injury. SNS shuts the gut down, speeds up the heart, increases blood pressure, dilates pupils, makes more glucose available in the blood for energy. PNS is sometimes referred to as the “rest and digest” system.

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They are both part of the autonomic nervous system. While the parasympathetic division is involved in stimulating sexual arousal, the sympathetic division is involved in stimulating orgasm. The sympathetic division speeds up the heartbeat while the parasympathetic division slows the heartbeat down. The digestive system is also affected by these two divisions; it is stimulated by the parasympathetic division and inhibited by the sympathetic division. 7.

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Thus, the sympathetic nervous system increases heart rate, and the forced contractions widen the airways making it easier to breathe. Your body now releases stored energy, which allows for increased strength in muscles, and can also cause your palms to sweat, pupils to dilate, and hair to stand up. The parasympathetic division is most active during resting conditions, hence, why it can also be called, “rest and digest”. This division controls body processes during ordinary situations. It generally slows down your heart rate and decreases your blood

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Stress is a natural human response that prompts us to address problems and situations. When under stress, your hormones are released and your body goes into a fight or flight response. You begin to sweat more, your heart rate and blood pressure increase, and your muscles tense. This is why stress is so detrimental to our health. Especially for African Americans, who are already at high risk for high blood pressure given that it's part of genetics.

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When our body experiences a large percent of stress, our brain triggers a bodily reaction called fight or flight. This response represents genetic wisdom that we have which is designed to protect our body from any harm. Due to this response, the body’s sympathetic nervous system is activated and hormones are released. Some of the symptoms of flight or fight include, elevating of your heart rate, dizziness, shakiness, chronic headaches, muscle tension, depression, allergies, and anxiety. It takes the body 20 to 60 minutes to return to its natural state.

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The hot system is likely to take control when we are stressed because we tend to yield to temptations when we are stressed. A very common example would be smokers tend to smoke more when they are stressed. Smoking is a temptation to them hence when they are stressed they tend to smoke. Another example would be a person who is going on diet would forgo their diet and eat more when they are stressed. Hence, one is usually told not to practice a new behavior when they are stressed as they are less likely to succeed.

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The body has a Sympathetic and a Para sympathetic nervous system with its own neurones and networks. The Sympathetic nervous system triggers Fight or Flight response whenever it senses a danger! Sexual arousal and appetite are taken care of by the Parasympathetic nervous system. The parasympathetic nerves act as a brake system in the fight or flight response. If you are threatened, the “brake” is removed in order for the survival system to facilitate fight or flight behaviours.

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This kind of behavior is caused by the adrenal glands which enable the fight or flight response

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On the other hand a lot of stress can backfire completely and can be a horrible thing for you. Too much stress can even cause health problems for you. According to Mayo Clinic stress can affect your physical health as well as your mental health. For physical health it can cause head and stomach aches, sleep problems, chest pain and even a change in your se drive. Stress can also affect your behavior, it can cause your to have anger outburst, social withdrawal and might even cause you to turn to drugs and alcohol.

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