Nervous System: What Does It Do? (2024)

What does the nervous system do?

Your nervous system’s main function is to send messages from various parts of your body to your brain, and from your brain back out to your body to tell your body what to do. These messages regulate your:

  • Thoughts, memory, learning and feelings.
  • Movements (balance and coordination).
  • Senses (how your brain interprets what you see, hear, taste, touch and feel).
  • Wound healing.
  • Sleep.
  • Heartbeat and breathing patterns.
  • Response to stressful situations, including sweat production.
  • Digestion.
  • Body processes, such as puberty and aging.

How does the nervous system work?

Your nervous system uses nerve cells called neurons to send signals, or messages, all over your body. These electrical signals travel among your brain, skin, organs, glands and muscles.

The messages help you move your limbs and feel sensations, like pain. Your eyes, ears, tongue, nose and the nerves all over your body take in information about your environment. Then, nerves carry that data to and from your brain.

There are different types of neurons. Each type of neuron has a different job:

  • Motor neurons take signals from your brain and spinal cord to your muscles. They help you move. They also assist with breathing, swallowing and speaking.
  • Sensory neurons take information from your senses (what you see, touch, taste, etc.) to your brain.
  • Interneurons communicate between motor and sensory neurons. These neurons regulate your movement in response to sensory information (like moving away from a hot surface) and play a role in how you learn, think and remember.
Nervous System: What Does It Do? (2024)

FAQs

What does the nervous system do answer? ›

The nervous system plays a role in nearly every aspect of our health and well-being. It guides everyday activities such as waking up; automatic activities such as breathing; and complex processes such as thinking, reading, remembering, and feeling emotions. The nervous system controls: Brain growth and development.

What does my nervous system do? ›

The nervous system helps all the parts of the body to communicate with each other. It also reacts to changes both outside and inside the body. The nervous system uses both electrical and chemical means to send and receive messages.

What does the nervous system do short? ›

The nervous system transmits signals between the brain and the rest of the body, including internal organs. In this way, the nervous system's activity controls the ability to move, breathe, see, think, and more. The basic unit of the nervous system is a nerve cell, or neuron.

How to heal the nervous system? ›

Rebalancing your nervous system means getting back to a state where you feel calm and centered. You can try practicing deep breathing exercises, spending time in nature, or taking short breaks during the day. Regular sleep, a balanced diet, and talking to someone you trust can also help.

What is the nervous system for 7th grade? ›

The nervous system controls everything you do, including breathing, walking, thinking, and feeling. This system is made up of your brain, spinal cord, and all the nerves of your body. The brain is the control center and the spinal cord is the major highway to and from the brain.

What is the simplest behavioral act? ›

The simplest form of behavior, called a reflex, involves impulse conduction over a few neurons. This path is called a reflex arc. A. Sensory or afferent neurons transmit impulses from sensory receptors to the spinal cord or brain.

What does the nervous system control? ›

The nervous system is responsible for intelligence, learning, memory, movement, the senses and basic body functions such as your heartbeat and breathing. The basic building blocks of the nervous system are the nerve cells (neurons) which are responsible for carrying messages to and from different parts of the body.

How long does it take to regulate your nervous system? ›

You can self-regulate your nervous system during stress, which helps to return it back to normal as soon as the stressor has passed, a period called the window of tolerance. It is normal for the nervous system to undergo a healing process after traumatic experiences, which can take approximately one month or more.

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