3 things you should know about your Vagus Nerve
I don’t actually know what made me look into the vagus nerve, but I’m so glad that I did. It’s awesome! It does so much, and I didn’t even know half of it. I’m only going to tell you a little bit of what it does though, because I got crazy overwhelmed thinking off all the ways that I needed to do to ‘fix’ my very stressed vagus nerve, and I would like to spare you that spike of anxiety.
So here it is, quick and dirty version:
The vagus nerve (VN) is a super long nerve in your body, called the wandering nerve in Latin because it meanders around the body. It sends both sensory and motor function information to the brain, from the gut, the heart and lungs and it responsible for automatic body functions, like sneezing, coughing, swallowing and such.
The vagus nerve is part of the parasympathetic nervous system, also known as rest and digest system. Your body has to be out of flight or fight mode before it can focus on the ‘non-essential’ actions like digesting food and recovery. There is also a very interesting link between the brain and the gut that impacts depression, which the VN plays a part in.
There is so much more to the VN, but it got too much for me so I stopped here. If you want to read in more detail what precisely the vagus nerve does, check out this review article. I found it completely fascinating, if a slight information overload…
3 things the vagus nerve impacts –
- Depression – stimulating the VN releases a chemical in the brain that has anti-depressive actions, essentially the same action that medication acts on. Increasing your vagal tone increases your stress response, builds resilience and has a positive effect on anxiety and mood.
- Heart health – when the VN is active it switches off the sympathic nervous system, allowing the heart rate to slow and the vessels to relax. Basically it gives the heart a chill pill, and it stops have to work so hard.
- Inflammation – a bit of the science went over my head, but from what I can understand this is how the VN help IBS, by reducing the inflammation that irritates the gut and causes issues. The VN also acts as an immune boost, but again, it was very sciencey and my poor brain couldn’t figure it out.
3 ways to stimulate your vagus nerve –
- Abdominal breathing – Lay or sit, with one hand on your chest and one on your stomach. Breathe in slowly and deeping through your nose, the hand on your chest shouldn’t move much while the hand on your stomach should lift. Breathe out through pursed lips slowly.
- Yoga – There are so many studies showing the benefits of yoga, with depression, increasing vagul tone, let alone feeling more flexible and freer in your own body.
- Cold water immersion – I don’t know much abou this one, because the brief look that I did said ice baths. I’ll pass, thanks! Maybe I’ll investigate it more later. Maybe.
I was so excited to read about the vagus nerve does, and that you can stimulate it using non-medical means. As someone who really struggles with taking medication, discovering that there’s a way to help with my depression without anti-depressants was incredible! This treatment can be used for people for whom the medication doesn’t work effectively, and the results are so encouraging.
I was kinda dabbling in abdominal breathing and yoga already, but now I’m going to be more intentional about them. Would I include it to my weekly schedule? Probably not. I have so many things already that I mean to do, but never get around to. I’d rather not add yoga and then it just feel guilty each week about not doing it. Will I try it when I’m in a sad slump, like I have been the last few days? You bet your cute butt I will!
Well, that’s all from me, dear readers! I’m off to do some yoga x
p.s – some more interesting articles if you have the brain space:
Vagal Nerve Stimulation for Treatment-Resistant Depression – PubMed (nih.gov)
