How to Use parasympathetic in a Sentence

parasympathetic

adjective
  • The parasympathetic system’s weird—that’s what the gas revs up.
    — Nisi Shawl, Slate Magazine, 22 Feb. 2017
  • All these things help our bodies get into a parasympathetic state.
    — Celia Ellenberg, Vogue, 16 Mar. 2023
  • That is the opposite of the parasympathetic state your body needs to reach deep, restorative sleep.
    — Allison Palmer, Charlotte Observer, 26 Mar. 2026
  • As the body adapts, heart rate and blood pressure decrease, while the body enters a parasympathetic state of rest and digestion.
    — Irene Coltrinari, Vogue, 18 Apr. 2025
  • That works directly against the parasympathetic state needed for deep, restorative sleep.
    — Allison Palmer, Miami Herald, 25 Mar. 2026
  • It is involved in parasympathetic processes of the heart, lungs, and digestive tract.
    — William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024
  • This will reset you from the sympathetic (fight or flight) to the parasympathetic (rest and digest) system.
    — John Kormanik, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
  • Sympathetic drive — the fight-or-flight response — works like a gas pedal, while parasympathetic drive provides the brake.
    — Rustin Dodd, New York Times, 1 May 2025
  • After a hard workout, the parasympathetic system dominates as the body demands rest.
    — Charles Wallace, WSJ, 25 June 2017
  • This activates your parasympathetic system, downshifting from fight-or-flight to rest-and-digest.
    — Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025
  • Heart rate dropped, systolic blood pressure fell and heart rate variability rose, which are direct, measurable signs of a parasympathetic shift.
    — Allison Palmer, Miami Herald, 23 May 2026
  • Doing so allows your body to move from the sympathetic system's fight-or-flight to the parasympathetic relaxation mode, Anne said.
    — Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 11 Dec. 2020
  • Therefore, when the sympathetic versus parasympathetic balance is off, all sorts of things in your mind and body can be adversely affected.
    — Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 12 July 2025
  • Yoga is a parasympathetic activation exercise that helps with digestion, blood flow and more.
    — Womensmedia, Forbes, 15 Apr. 2021
  • The parasympathetic functions are often characterized as rest-and-digest.
    — Anne R. Crecelius, The Conversation, 20 June 2019
  • Less sympathetic nervous system drive equals less stress, while more parasympathetic activity leads to a state of calm, which is central to yoga practice.
    — Kristen Rogers, CNN, 6 May 2020
  • Orgasms also activate parasympathetic pathways that promote deeper and longer sleep.
    — Melanie Thernstrom, New Yorker, 29 June 2026
  • Those shifts are direct markers of parasympathetic activation, meaning the body measurably moved out of a stress state during the exercise.
    — Allison Palmer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 May 2026
  • Extending your inhale and exhale helps drop your body into parasympathetic mode, meaning your anxious fight-or-flight impulses become reduced.
    — Laird Hamilton, Outside Online, 4 Aug. 2019
  • The only way the recovery process can take place is through activation of the parasympathetic aspect of your autonomic nervous system.
    — Dana Santas, CNN, 30 June 2021
  • Engaging the parasympathetic system helps the body conserve energy, slow your heart rate, lower blood pressure, and relieve muscle tension.
    — Heather Margonari, Discover Magazine, 28 Nov. 2024
  • Not only that, taking time to care for your body helps activate your parasympathetic immune system, which helps relax your body, regenerating your energy.
    — India Espy-Jones, Essence, 1 Feb. 2024
  • The sympathetic system is responsible for the fight-or-flight response, while the parasympathetic system activates the body’s rest-and-digest mode.
    — Clarissa Brincat, Popular Science, 25 Sep. 2025
  • Some early research hints that cold triggers parasympathetic activation (the body’s calming response), but most of the buzz here comes from anecdotal sources, not clinical trials.
    — Marisa McMillan, Outside, 29 Dec. 2025
  • Some research suggests immersing your face in cold water could stimulate the body’s parasympathetic response and help slow your heart rate, Gordon-Elliott says.
    — Caroline C. Boyle, USA Today, 18 May 2025
  • The body reflexively compensates by increasing parasympathetic activity to slow the heart rate back toward normal.
    — Anne R. Crecelius, The Conversation, 20 June 2019
  • Finally, a proprietary biofeedback test identifies my parasympathetic levels, which indicate the body’s ability to de-stress.
    — Adam H. Graham, Robb Report, 14 Aug. 2022
  • The goal is to activate parasympathetic pathways tied to calming the stress response, improving heart rate variability and supporting relaxation.
    — Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 4 June 2026
  • Some research has suggested a role for parasympathetic nerves, which counteract sympathetic signals to return the body to rest, and for sensory nerves, which relay various stimuli to the brain.
    — Kelly Servick, Science | AAAS, 12 Sep. 2019
  • The insula regulates the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, which control the fight-or-flight response and relax the body, respectively.
    — Kristen Rogers, CNN, 24 June 2020

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

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