• Question: How long does adrenalin released from the glands take to reach the brain.

    Asked by tommyc to Derek, Elaine, Heather, Keith, Bimpe on 20 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Heather Eyre

      Heather Eyre answered on 20 Jun 2013:

      The adrenal glands sit on top of the kidneys, once released into the blood it would have effects along the way (increase blood flow to muscles and increased heart rate so you can run faster!), but it would get to the brain in under a minute.

      Adrenaline triggers the ‘fight or flight’ response – if it was slow you’d be dead before you even attempted to run away (or fight if that the was a better option)!

    • Photo: Keith Siew

      Keith Siew answered on 28 Jun 2013:

      Well technically speaking I’d hazard that the brain is already aware of the release of adrenaline before it happens… because it is what processes the response to the threat and send the signals to the adrenals to release adrenaline… so its probably doing some of the things that adrenaline would normally doing like increasing heart rate and breathing… but then these changes are sustained once the adrenaline take effect…

      When the adrenaline reaches the brain itself though it causes blood to be diverted to different parts of the brain that would be more useful for a flight or fight response! But it would definitely take under a minute!

Comments