Heal Your Body By Training Your Vagus Nerve

These days it is nearly impossible to avoid stress. Some wear their stress as though it were a badge of honor, while others push through hoping for light at the end of the tunnel.

The majority of the people I talk with do not recognize the damage that prolonged stress causes in their bodies. More than simply moderating your stress, it’s important to know you can heal your body by training your vagus nerve.

Vagus nerve – what’s that? The vagus nerve forms a bi-directional “super highway” between your brain and the majority of your internal organs. Vagus means “wandering” in Latin.

It’s an appropriate name for the longest nerve in the body that meanders around from your head through your chest and abdomen. Surprisingly, about 80% of the information transmitted by the vagus nerve is from the body to the brain.

The Role Of The Vagus Nerve

The vagus nerve connects the brainstem to the body. It allows the brain to monitor and receive information about many of the body’s functions. Some of these roles include:

• Supplying sensory information for throat, ears, heart, lung, and digestive tract.
• Providing movement and reflexes responsible for swallowing, sneezing, and speech.
• Supporting parasympathetic functions related to digestion, breathing, and heart rate.
• Controlling the automatic functions in your body.

Stress and an unregulated nervous system reduce immune function, leaving you more susceptible to disease and infection. The chronic stimulation of stress on your immune system causes it to become suppressed overall and thus less able to ward off the things that work against you.

Vagal Health Affects Overall Wellness

When the vagus nerve is not firing well, we say there is “low vagal tone.” Low vagal tone is associated with disease and poor resilience. These can include IBS and other digestive issues, Rheumatoid Arthritis, anxiety, high blood pressure, panic attacks, poor heart rate variability, and even mental health. Without good vagal tone, your heart doesn’t function properly, your breathing is affected, and even your voice can change.

Studies have clearly demonstrated that Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) affects the vagus nerve and, consequently, the digestive system. If you have had a concussion, your vagus nerve needs attention.

Good vagal tone and chewing your food properly is the basis for your body’s natural GLP-1 to be transmitted to your brain telling it you are full. Perhaps you don’t need the medication but rather some focus on improving vagal tone and chewing a lot more.

Improving your vagal tone is like clearing the traffic jam from the super highway to activate the parasympathetic nervous system. This allows messages to pass more efficiently so that your body can relax faster after stressful situations.

The more you increase your vagal tone, the more your physical and mental health will improve.

Ways To Tone The Vagus Nerve

1. Deep breathing – slowly inhale as much as you can through your nose, expanding your diaphragm and belly. Hold your breath for 5 seconds, then exhale slowly for 7 seconds through pursed lips. Repeat 10 times.
2. Humming and gargling – singing, humming, and gargling are all great ways to stimulate the part of the vagus nerve that is connected to your vocal cords and throat muscles. But don’t try to do so quietly – the benefit comes when you do so more forcefully.
3. Cold exposure – try finishing your shower with at least 30 seconds of cold water running over the back of your neck. Take slow, deep breaths as it does. You can start with brief exposure and work up gradually to several minutes.
4. Gag reflex – the lack of gag reflex is a sign of low vagal tone. I recommend starting with gargling daily. Then you can use a tongue scraper or the end of your toothbrush to stimulate the back of your tongue or throat.
5. Tickling the face or neck/scalp massage – stimulating these areas causes relaxation and increases vagal tone.

Your vagus nerve is a vital ally in your health and it is wise for everyone to pay attention to its proper function. Without it, your body cannot carry on the many automatic functions that keep you going. Without good vagal tone, your body cannot digest your food well and you can be malnourished.

You can make some of these exercises a part of your daily routine – and include your children. While you are driving them to school or an activity, sing a song loudly, or see who can hum a tune the loudest. When you help them brush their teeth, gargle with salt water. That will give you double benefit.

Besides your regular efforts to improve your vagal tone, make a point to pause several times in your day to close your eyes and focus on deep breathing. This puts your body back into parasympathetic mode and recruits your vagus nerve. As your vagal tone improves, you will find you can handle stress better and relax faster. This resilience will reduce inflammation and improve your health.

You and your future are worth it!