What is the difference between the Sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system?

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Answer 1 · 2018-04-22T00:38:11

Sympathetic arouses; parasympathetic calms.

The peripheral nervous system (PNS) is the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system (CNS) to the rest of the body.
One division of the PNS, the autonomic nervous system, controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs. Its sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic division calms.
The sympathetic nervous system arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations.
This is the system responsible for the heightened state of physiological arousal known as the fight-or-flight reaction—an increase in heart rate and respiration, accompanied by a decrease in digestion and salivation.
The parasympathetic nervous system calms the body, conserving its energy, and returning the body to homeostasis.

One way to remember this is:

The sympathetic system is sympathetic to you while you deal with a problem.
The para sympathetic system helps you come down afterwards, like a para chute.