Last week on the blog I introduced Polyvagal Theory. Today we are going to continue the discussion by talking about the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)- I'll be referring to it as ANS moving forward.
Polyvagal Theory is the science of the ANS. Let's review. The ANS is a network of nerves throughout our bodies that control things we do not need conscious control over, such as breathing and blood pressure. It is made up of two branches, sympathetic and parasympathetic. The sympathetic branch is our "fight or flight" response. The parasympathetic branch is our "rest and digest" response. It's important to know that we need both of these systems in order to function. We need to have some mobilizing energy from sympathetic to get us out of bed, prepare for a meeting, and be productive. We also need our parasympathetic branch in order to rest our bodies, be still, and digest our food.
The parasympathetic branch has a very important nerve called the vagus nerve. This nerve is one of our cranial nerves (the 10th). It starts in our brain and splits off into many branches as it extends through the neck and vital organs. It is really important in overseeing a variety of bodily functions that do not require conscious input, such as heart rate, immune response, sweating and digestion. Remember the vagus nerve because we will be returning to it later on in this series.
Part 3 in our series will discuss hierarchy, which is one of the three organizational principles of Polyvagal Theory. Stay tuned and thanks for reading!
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