Stress is a NORMAL part of life.
The body's stress responses are
your first line of defense in life-threatening situations. However, while
stress is a normal part of life, PROLONGED stress is another story.
Persistent reactions to stress can lead
to:
·
Health conditions such as high blood
pressure
·
Suppression of the immune system
·
Negative impact on school or work
performance
So, what responsible for managing your stress level?
The short answer is… your nervous
system.
The parts that make up your nervous
system:
·
autonomic nervous system
·
sympathetic nervous system
·
parasympathetic nervous system
The autonomic nervous system is responsible for controlling many of
the body processes we almost never need to think about, like breathing,
digestion, sweating, and shivering. The autonomic nervous system has two parts:
the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous systems.
The sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for sudden stress,
like if you see a robbery taking place. When something frightening happens, the
sympathetic nervous system makes the heart beat faster so that it sends blood
more quickly to the different body parts that might need it. It also causes the
adrenal glands at the top of the kidneys to release adrenaline, a hormone that
helps give extra power to the muscles for a quick getaway. This process is
known as the body's "fight or flight" response.
The parasympathetic nervous system does the exact opposite: It prepares
the body for rest. It also helps the digestive tract move along so our bodies
can efficiently take in nutrients from the food we eat.
Often the problem is that our brains have become overly accustomed
to staying the "fight or flight" mode. If you notice you simply can’t slow down and
rest, it is imperative that you take steps to do so! Massage is a great way to unwind and slow
down…
How does massage actually help you to relax?
Well, massage stimulates the sensory and
proprioceptive nerve fibers of the skin and underlying tissues. These messages pass along the afferent fibers
to the spinal chord.
From there stimuli disperse through the central
and autonomic nervous systems - producing various effects in any zones supplied
from the same segment of the spinal chord. ... Such reactions are called reflex
effects. Massage bombards the skin and
subcutaneous tissues with stimuli, which produces a local effect and exerts soothing
effect on the body as a whole.
Massage is more than systematic manipulation of
soft tissues and soothing stroking. A
massage has the ability to BALANCE your energy and reactivate the parasympathetic nervous system by
utilizing the "therapeutic touch" only received by human
interaction. This increases hemoglobin
levels in the blood this is truly beneficial and healing for the nervous
system.
That’s it in a nutshell… While making sure I crossed all my T’s and
dotted all my I’s found a really cool site to brush up on Anatomy &
Physiology. As the saying goes,
"use it or lose it" and there is just SO MUCH about our bodies to
know and remember… I wish Anatomy &
Physiology had been made this simple when I was learning it to become a massage
therapist! I think this is a fun resource so I'm sharing it with
you! http://library.thinkquest.org/5777/ner1.htm
Cheers,
Yvonne L Larson | LA’s NECK Work
Expert
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