Attempts to classify people, to bring their individual differences into a system have been made at all times. Even the doctors of antiquity - Hippocrates and Galen - identified four types of temperament. One of the modern classifications is based on another feature of the nervous system - the initial autonomic tone.
The vegetative nervous system is the part that maintains the constancy of the internal environment of the body, regulates the work of organs and their systems, not obeying consciousness and will. It is divided into two sections - sympathetic and parasympathetic. The first section activates vital activity: it speeds up breathing and heartbeat, increases blood pressure, expands the bronchi, so the body prepares for active action. The parasympathetic section reduces the heart rate and respiration rate, pressure, narrows the bronchi. Figuratively speaking, the activity of the sympathetic department is "anxiety", and the parasympathetic one is "clearing the alarm."
The activation of one or another department of the autonomic nervous system depends on the circumstances in which the body is located. But even at rest, the influence of one of the departments prevails. This predominant influence is called the initial vegetative tone.
People with a predominantly sympathetic nervous system are called sympathicotonics, with a predominantly parasympathetic nervous system called vagotonics.
Sympathicotonic
A sympathicotonic person is able to quickly make decisions, adapt to new circumstances, and master new methods of work.
Such a person quickly “ignites”, but just as quickly “burns out”, exhausting his resources. Long-term work in a uniform mode is given to him with difficulty. A sympathicotonic person assimilates information easily, but can forget after 3-4 days.
Sympathicotonic is not inclined to make long-term plans, he lives and acts "here and now", is inclined to violent expression of emotions.
Vagotonic
Vagotonic is difficult to master in new circumstances, slowly gets used to physical and mental stress, but getting used to it, it can endure them for a long time without any problems. The same is the case with the assimilation of information: he remembers slowly, but for a long time.
If sympathicotonics can be called a tactician, then vagotonic is a strategist, he builds his plans for the future in detail and calculates all possible options. Vagotoniki are not inclined to violent expression of emotions.
A person's belonging to one of the types of the autonomic nervous system affects the success in a particular activity. For example, sports related to cyclic physical activity are more suitable for vagotonics: skiing, swimming, cycling, running at medium or long distances. Sympathicotonics can manifest themselves in sports involving short-term loads: boxing, rhythmic gymnastics, and short-distance running.
