How to Use parasympathetic nervous system in a Sentence

parasympathetic nervous system

noun
Definition of parasympathetic nervous systemnext
  • The vagus nerve is part of the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps the body rest and relax.
    — Aria Bendix, NBC News, 3 Nov. 2023
  • The body also goes into flight or flight mode, meaning that the parasympathetic nervous system takes over in the build up to jumping.
    — Sara Novak, Discover Magazine, 7 May 2023
  • What my parasympathetic nervous system objects to is the sudden snake, the sudden spider, the sudden bat, and the sudden Dave.
    — Murr Brewster, The Christian Science Monitor, 5 Jan. 2023
  • The extra weight and pressure on the body helps trigger your parasympathetic nervous system, which lowers your heart rate and sort of switches your fight-or-flight response off.
    — Rachel Feltman, Popular Science, 15 Dec. 2020
  • This new kind of urban oasis is meant to have its own effect—triggering the parasympathetic nervous system to help the body to relax, digest, and heal, says Berzin.
    — Lauren Valenti, Vogue, 30 Jan. 2019
  • But one step on Canyon Ranch soil will send your parasympathetic nervous system into overdrive.
    — Jennifer Fernandez, Town & Country, 5 Nov. 2019
  • Just four rounds of box breathing can activate your parasympathetic nervous system and calm your mind.
    — David O'Hara, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2023
  • Even a few minutes of slow deep breathing is enough to get the parasympathetic nervous system going, though doing it for longer may elicit greater effects.
    — Patrick Wilson, Outside Online, 21 Aug. 2020
  • At night, the parasympathetic nervous system helps the body rest, digest, and recuperate.
    — Jennifer Leman, Popular Mechanics, 28 Mar. 2022
  • In a 2014 study, Vingerhoets and Bylsma found that crying can help someone self-soothe by activating the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps the body rest and digest.
    — Naomi Weinshenker, Discover Magazine, 9 Aug. 2022
  • Helping to shift focus away from what’s in front of us kickstarts the parasympathetic nervous system, which encourages everything to slow down and our bodies to move out of panic mode.
    — Georgia Day, Vogue, 30 Oct. 2023
  • This slower breathing and control of the breath, research has shown, helps with the parasympathetic nervous system, your body's ability to rest and digest, as well as the central nervous system.
    — Stephanie Mansour, CNN, 12 Aug. 2020
  • Optical flow has been shown to activate the parasympathetic nervous system (or rest and digest mode) and improve creative thought.
    — Hannah Coates, Vogue, 17 Aug. 2023
  • The vagus nerve’s job is to regulate your parasympathetic nervous system.
    — Anne R. Crecelius, The Conversation, 20 June 2019
  • The parasympathetic nervous system is activated when a danger is over, such as being pulled out of harm’s way from ongoing traffic while crossing the street.
    — Womensmedia, Forbes, 15 Apr. 2021
  • Osteocalcin, in turn, tamps down activity in the parasympathetic nervous system–nerve fibers that slow heart rate and breathing.
    — Emily Underwood, Science | AAAS, 12 Sep. 2019
  • Deep breathing engages the parasympathetic nervous system, resulting in a lower heart rate and feelings of calmness.
    — Cathy Cassata, Health, 7 June 2024
  • This can help with relaxation by turning on your parasympathetic nervous system.
    — Alexa Tucker, Women's Health, 26 May 2023
  • Nearly anyone can safely practice this at any time to activate the rest-and-restore parasympathetic nervous system.
    — Tree Meinch, Discover Magazine, 30 Aug. 2021
  • What breathing techniques for anxiety do is shift the balance to the parasympathetic nervous system, the one that’s responsible for resting and digesting.
    — Stephanie Dolgoff, Good Housekeeping, 25 Aug. 2022
  • Unlike being in fight or flight mode, when our stress response jumps into action, meditation enacts the parasympathetic nervous system which is in charge of calming our nerves.
    — Byalexa Mikhail, Fortune, 11 Feb. 2023
  • Gua sha also addresses the parasympathetic nervous system and can help with anxiety, stress, pain, and depression.
    — Prue Lewington, Harper's BAZAAR, 23 May 2019
  • The effect, if true, would result from the parasympathetic nervous system, Pristas explains, tying into a feeling of being cocooned.
    — Jamie Gold, Forbes, 28 Sep. 2021
  • Try taking a deep exhale, which can stimulate your body's relaxation response through the parasympathetic nervous system.
    — Stefanie Groner, Glamour, 2 Dec. 2020
  • As part of the parasympathetic nervous system—active when the body is at ease or recovering from stress—the vagus regulates autonomic functions such as heart rate, breathing, and digestion.
    — Emily Underwood, Science | AAAS, 10 June 2021
  • The company cites research that certain frequencies of vibration are found to be soothing and activate the parasympathetic nervous system.
    — Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2022
  • This vast nerve, which is really more of a meandering network, plays a key role in activating the relaxing parasympathetic nervous system.
    — Tree Meinch, Discover Magazine, 30 Aug. 2021
  • The vagus nerve is the main component of the parasympathetic nervous system which monitors mood regulation, immune response, and other functions.
    — Natalie Meade, Quartz, 24 Apr. 2020
  • But breathing is also the key to accessing your parasympathetic nervous system, the aspect of your autonomic nervous system tasked with recovery and restoration.
    — Dana Santas, CNN, 31 Aug. 2020
  • Vertebrate embryos have a collection of stem cells called the neural crest that contributes to developing a variety of structures, including jaws, other skeletal parts of the head and the sensory, sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
    — Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 May 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'parasympathetic nervous system.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: