We reside in a world stuffed with noise. Dings and notifications rule our fashionable lives. Inevitably, our focus is on the mercy of our telephones—texts, emails, and messages beckon perpetual consideration. This rings significantly true in my life: I’m juggling the psychological load of motherhood, work, and all the things in between. Everybody appears to wish my consideration, and so they want it stat. Perhaps you, like me, end up in an identical place—trapped in a low-grade state of stress, unaware of how deeply it impacts your well-being. Luckily, one highly effective wellness observe could make all of the distinction. By studying easy methods to stimulate our vagus nerve (the nerve that runs out of your mind to your stomach), we will all start to reclaim our peace.
Exploring the Vagus Nerve: A Key to Wellness
Given our fast-paced lives, discovering methods to handle stress and promote total wellness is paramount. That is the place the vagus nerve is available in. This nerve performs a vital function in regulating our physique’s response to emphasize, influencing all the things from coronary heart charge to digestion. Understanding its affect can empower us to make higher decisions—for our psychological and bodily well being. With this in thoughts, I tapped an skilled within the discipline to delve deeper into the connection between the vagus nerve and holistic well-being.
Meet Brooke Taylor. She based The Highway—an Austin-based haven for all issues beauty acupuncture and pure options for skincare (and past). Taylor is our go-to useful resource for harnessing the facility of holistic modes of therapeutic. With Taylor’s steerage, I received the 411 on all issues vagus nerve. We dug into its affect on stress, digestion, and psychological readability. With Taylor’s steerage, I discovered easy methods to activate this nerve to usher calm into our every day lives. Scroll for her deep-rooted knowledge.
Brooke Taylor LAc, MAcOM
Brooke created The Highway in Austin, Texas to share her expertise in holistic skincare, acupuncture and Chinese language drugs to nurture our personal innate therapeutic responses. Beforehand an esthetician and international skincare educator and model supervisor, she pursued her masters in Chinese language drugs to assist heal others on a deeper degree.
What’s the vagus nerve?
The vagus nerve is the superhighway of your physique. It transports very important data between your mind and the remainder of your inner organs. The vagus (or vagal nerve) originates within the brainstem and extends by means of the face, neck, lungs, coronary heart, diaphragm, and stomach. It reaches a slew of organs: the abdomen, spleen, intestines, colon, liver, reproductive organs, and kidneys—its affect is profound!
Taylor talked about that though communication flows each methods, most indicators journey from the intestine to the mind—reasonably than the reverse. For this reason we frequently seek advice from the “gut-brain connection” or the concept of “listening to your intestine response.”
“Vagus” is Latin for wanderer, a becoming title for the physique’s longest cranial nerve.
How does the vagus nerve affect our parasympathetic nervous system?
Vagal nerves are the principle nerves of our parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). This method controls our involuntary features (e.g., digestion, coronary heart charge, temper, and sexual arousal). Taylor likened the PNS to a symphony conductor—it orchestrates the tempo and depth of your nervous system. It helps gradual issues down after stress, reducing your coronary heart charge, aiding digestion, and selling a peaceful, balanced state. It’s generally related to the rest-and-digest operate. Naturally, it’s the counterbalance to our fight-or-flight response—aka the sympathetic nervous system.
How will you observe your vagal tone?
You possibly can observe your vagal tone by measuring your coronary heart charge variability (HRV). This reveals how a lot your coronary heart charge accelerates and slows down whenever you breathe. Increased HRV normally signifies a more healthy vagal tone, that means your physique handles stress and leisure effectively. Taylor defined {that a} increased vagal tone signifies a faster restoration post-stressful or traumatic occasion. If in case you have an Oura Ring, Whoop, Garmin, or Polar watch/sensor, you should utilize it to trace your vagal tone.
Indicators of a Sturdy Vagal Tone
In line with Taylor, when our vagal tone is robust, we expertise a way of total well-being. We reply to stressors with resilience and preserve a well-functioning immune system. It additionally helps us regulate blood glucose ranges extra successfully!
Indicators of a Weak Vagal Tone
On the flip facet, a weak vagal tone inhibits our capability to handle and recuperate from stressors. It’s been linked to increased ranges of irritation, digestive points (together with meals sensitivities), fatigue, and temper issues. There are additionally hyperlinks between a weak vagal tone and sure illnesses like cardiovascular situations and autoimmune situations.
By the Numbers
For adults, the next HRV usually ranges from 60-100 milliseconds or extra, whereas a decrease HRV (beneath 50 milliseconds) could recommend stress or decrease vagal tone. Nevertheless, HRV is extremely private! It’s greatest to trace your baseline over time.
What on a regular basis habits weaken or strengthen the vagus nerve?
From aware consuming to buzzing, you possibly can considerably enhance your vagal tone with easy habits.
Correct Diet
Taylor emphasised a weight-reduction plan wealthy in important fatty acids, B nutritional vitamins, and zinc. Adaptogens can assist, too! Nevertheless—much more necessary—is chewing your meals. Decelerate, eat mindfully, and take a look at to not multitask. Enjoyable truth: chewing completely engages the vagus nerve. This assists the ‘digest’ in relaxation and digest. Taylor mentioned, “Have your tongue meet the taste bud on the roof of your mouth as you swallow. In the event you observe with saliva, you may discover you’re feeling like yawning—an indicator that it’s working!”
Releasing Neck Pressure
Lowering neck stress is useful, as tightness within the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle can limit the vagus nerve alongside the facet of the neck. In the event you have a tendency to carry stress on this space, studying to stretch and therapeutic massage your neck can assist launch it. In flip, you’ll assist optimum vagus nerve tone.
Get Vibration Going
Different methods to tone the vagus nerve embody purple gentle remedy, therapeutic massage, and craniosacral remedy. In line with Taylor, chilly remedy is nice as effectively. Her favourite trick? Buzzing, chanting, and singing. All of those get vibration going! She additionally inspired motion (tai chi, qi gong, yoga, and dancing) and 4-7-8 breathwork. Lastly, she talked about the facility of meditation, journaling, and listening to binaural beats.
How does acupuncture work to stimulate the vagus nerve?
In line with Taylor, acupuncture excels at safely and successfully treating the vagus nerve. “The shift is commonly noticeable within the first session, even inside minutes—a brand new sense of zen, feeling ‘again in your physique,’ and fewer emotionally reactive.” Research present that acupuncture can scale back irritation, enhance coronary heart charge variability (HRV), and regulate autonomic operate. Taylor relayed that mixed with natural drugs, acupuncture can deal with different situations associated to vagus nerve dysfunction. She additionally highlighted auricular acupuncture for vagal tone well being (that is why ear seeding has grow to be so fashionable!).
The rest in regards to the vagus nerve that you simply want extra individuals understood?
“The vagus nerve is commonly neglected, but it connects our thoughts and physique in ways in which profoundly affect our total high quality of life,” Taylor famous. “Whereas we work with this method commonly in all modalities of Chinese language drugs, I hope extra individuals grow to be conscious of all of the instruments they’ve at their disposal to manage this method. From breathwork to massaging acupressure factors, to buzzing, and extra, you possibly can self-regulate and take again management in minutes.”
Camille’s Suggestions: What’s Serving to Me Assist My Nervous System
To carry this full circle, Camille just lately wrote about how she’s focusing extra on nervous system regulation. She’s been persistently integrating practices to stimulate the vagus nerve—a reminder that small steps and consistency make a huge impact on well-being. Beneath are her go-to instruments:
- Omnibiotic Probiotic
- This probiotic is efficient for stress reduction and therapeutic intestine dysfunction. Within the lab research, 83% of their probiotics attain the intestine alive and energetic (versus a median of seven% in main U.S. manufacturers!). She’s been taking this primary factor each morning.
- Breathwork
- Strategies like diaphragmatic respiratory and the 4-7-8 respiratory activate the parasympathetic nervous system, selling leisure. Camille likes to do the periods from Conscious in Minutes. (Kelly’s podcast is superb, too.)
- Yoga Block
- Camille likes to take a seat cross-legged on this straightforward yoga block so she will have a cushty posture whereas she does her breathwork and journaling within the morning.
- Vagus Nerve Stimulator
- She purchased this system that strengthens her vagal tone over time, selling rest-and-digest and total well-being.
- Juna Nightcap Sleep Gummy
- Good sleep is obligatory for a well-functioning nervous system! In line with Camille, this gummy is such a very good combo of botanicals, magnesium, and microdosed phytomelatonin.
- Calm music
- Auditory stimulation has an enormous impact on our nervous system—and calm music reduces stress and nervousness nearly immediately. She loves the Spiritune app, which mixes music remedy with neuroscience that can assist you loosen up. She’ll do 5-10 extra minutes with the Vagus Nerve Stimulator at evening whereas she listens to music and reads.
- Important oil
- Important oils—like lavender and chamomile—calm the nervous system. She retains this attractive oil on her bedside desk and rubs it on her and her husband’s wrists once they get in mattress.
- Weighted blanket
- Camille loves how a weighted blanket feels, however since she’s a sizzling sleeper, she’ll normally curl up with one whereas she reads at evening—after which ditch it when it’s time for sleep. The light stress stimulates deep contact stress receptors which sends a message of safety and luxury to the physique.
Discovering Your Supportive Rituals
In the end, the inspiration of this work comes from inside—offering house in our every day schedules for prayer and mindfulness, and prioritizing good sleep. No merchandise or fast fixes can exchange these necessities. That mentioned, the fitting toolkit can assist your nervous system as a lift to your different foundational efforts. Cheers to supporting a wholesome vagus nerve, one deep breath at a time.