You don’t need a particular level of fitness or strength to sky dive however to jump out of a plane mid flight you need to be a little crazy, a little brave, or even just a little curious. People who do this as a living overlook or accept the risk of injury or death for the thrill of the adventure.

The body has a ‘fight or flight’ response. This is a physiological response to prepare the body to react to a threatening situation. The body must prioritize its functions. We don’t need to be digesting food while, in the case of skydiving, stressing about plummeting to the ground or in nature running away from a predator! This response can be seen through 2 channels:

Sympathetic branch of Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)

The ANS affects many bodily functions, instantly and directly. There are 3 parts to it but it is the sympathetic nervous system involved in the flight or fight response. Some of the things the sympathetic branch does is allows pupils to dilate, increase heart rate, blood pressure and respiration, activates the sweat glands, stops non-essential functions like digestion, and increases rennin secretion.

Endocrine system

This is responsible for the hormones and their releases in the body. Hormones have a wider effect on body but a slower effect. One hormone is adrenaline (also known as epinephrine) and is released in direct response to stressful situations and enhances the sympathetic responses to stress. Within the body, more so with the endocrine system, there is feedback systems and cause and effects. When adrenaline is released it causes other hormones and endorphins to be secreted. These endorphins, such as dopamine can act as a natural painkiller and an instant defense against pain.

Much research has been involved with skydiving and people stress levels. Heart rate, saliva response, blood pressure and hormonal responses are all ways to measure stress upon the body. Many hormones rise and peak just before or shortly after landing and decline significantly within the hour after landing.

Even if people have been skydiving for years, you can still this response, however it may not be as dramatic as the first time a person skydives!