The vagus nerve has an incredible range of health benefits for our bodies, such as relieving stress, anxiety, depression and muscle pain while improving digestion and improving heart rate and breathing patterns.
Daily habits such as exercise, diet and mindfulness provide an ideal platform to promote the health of the vagus nerve.
However, other techniques can also help stimulate and relax the vagus nerve.
Neck Massage
Living Whole reports that the vagus nerve links your brain with your ears, eyes, lungs, throat, heart, stomach and digestive tract. In addition, this nerve plays an integral part of the fight-or-flight response by helping regulate heart rate and blood pressure during stressful situations; daily exercises aimed at strengthening this nerve may reduce anxiety while stabilizing mood and strengthening immune systems.
A neck massage is a natural way to stimulate your vagus nerve and induce relaxation, alleviate muscular tension, disrupt pain receptor signalling to your brain and increase blood flow – thereby decreasing fatigue and weakness in muscles.
Start a neck massage by lightly massaging the muscles with light strokes of your fingertips to loosen them up, before applying firm but gentle pressure using thumb and four of your other fingers along the back of your neck and down both sides of its spine. When complete, move onto any areas in need.
Once the muscles have relaxed, use gentle finger pressure and spread it across both sides of your head with fingertips. Gently move your head from side to side before rotating either chin for four or five breaths on either side before continuing.
Stress is an inevitable component of our lives, yet while eliminating all sources is impossible, there are effective strategies we can employ to deal with and alleviate it. Stimulating the vagus nerve with activities like yoga, deep breathing or meditation is a quick and efficient way to decrease levels of anxiety while improving overall health.
Vagus nerve stimulation through exercise not only calms your nervous system, but it can also lower blood pressure and improve cardiovascular health. Aerobic exercises such as running, swimming and cycling have all been proven to increase vagus nerve activity which in turn boosts mood and promotes relaxation.
Add these 10 transformative video sessions into your daily routine to optimize every inch of the vagus nerve and create balance for body and mind. Through gentle movements and yoga, anatomy- and neuroscience-based techniques, breathwork meditation, as well as “off the mat” mini exercises you can perform anywhere, these sessions will stimulate and tone this vital nerve for greater health and well being.
Full-Body Cold Water Immersion
Just taking a cold plunge, whether in the form of a quick shower or bath can help stimulate your vagus nerve and bring balance back to your nervous system. By stimulating parasympathetic nervous system stimulation it can reduce heart rate and blood pressure as well as inflammation reduction, immunity enhancement and mood improvement.
The vagus nerve has often been called the body’s “information superhighway.” This nerve connects our brains with all internal organs in the body and controls functions such as breathing, swallowing and reflexes such as sneezing. Furthermore, it sends messages about our environment, emotions and social interactions back into the brain for processing.
Studies have demonstrated that stimulating the vagus nerve can enhance relaxation and decrease anxiety levels, improving mental health and digestion. This occurs as it stimulates release of neurotransmitter acetylcholine which acts to relax our minds and ease stress; relaxing us better during restful sleep, prevent migraines, neck pain or depression symptoms and more.
Stimulating the vagus nerve can also aid your ability to recover from stressful situations more quickly, with your heart rate variability serving as a great gauge. Studies have revealed that when this nerve is functioning effectively (with high “vagal tone”), heart rates decrease during stressful situations and remain lower afterward.
Exercise to stimulate the vagus nerve include deep breathing and meditation, mindfulness and yoga, cold water immersion, physical exercise and at-home vagus nerve stimulation devices. All these activities can have an enormously positive impact on your nervous system by relieving stress and making life’s challenges easier to face.
Add these exercises to your daily routine and witness their benefits firsthand. A combination of techniques may yield the greatest returns; if this is your first experience with them, start small before increasing time and frequency over time. Integrate them into your everyday life for maximum effects and see both body and mind become healthier, happier and more resilient under stress.
Meditation or Chanting
The vagus nerve (or 10th Cranial Nerve) is one of the longest of all the cranial nerves, connecting our brain with every organ and part of our bodies. It connects directly with both parasympathetic nervous system which promotes calmness as well as sympathetic nervous system which activates fight-or-flight response during times of stress, as well as being integral part of processing social and emotional information.
Home exercises that stimulate and tone the vagus nerve are an easy and practical way to relieve stress levels while improving health and well-being. By stimulating and toning our vagus nerve, we can reduce our levels of tension while improving health and wellness overall.
Vagus nerve exercises help stimulate the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, known for its relaxing effects, in your body. Regular vagus nerve exercises may provide powerful relief from stress, digestive issues, neck and jaw pain as well as brain fog – not to mention keeping your nervous system balanced all day long! Plus! With just five simple on-the-go exercises a day you could keep your nervous system balanced!
One of the easiest and most accessible ways to stimulate the vagus nerve is through deep, slow breathwork. Breathing slowly from your belly while expanding your rib cage and exhaling longer than inhaling can help stimulate the vagus nerve, providing a sense of relaxation and calm. Add this breathing exercise into your daily schedule or incorporate it into meditation practice for optimal results.
Chanting or singing can also help stimulate the vagus nerve. Reverberations from your vocal cords, particularly when done together with others, can activate it. Like deep breathing work, more practice makes for stronger results.
One simple way to activate your vagus nerve is through gratitude. Writing down what you are thankful for on a regular basis activates the PNS, leading to feelings of calmness and joy. Consider keeping a daily gratitude journal or using an app with guided, breath-based gratitude meditations for maximum effect.
Deep Breathing
The vagus nerve is an intricate network of thousands of fibers spanning your body from brain to organs. Studies have revealed it’s effect in reducing inflammation, improving digestion and satiety, increasing heart rate variability, lowering blood pressure and relieving headaches, anxiety, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), heart failure (HF), respiratory disorders (RD) and fibromyalgia symptoms.
There are various treatments and devices available to stimulate the vagus nerve, as well as simple exercises you can perform at home to activate it and promote wellbeing. Doing these exercises may help make you more resilient to stress, have improved focus and concentration skills, sleep more soundly and respond less reactively to daily challenges.
Deep breathing can be one of the best ways to stimulate the vagus nerve. By breathing slowly from your belly and exhaling longer than inhaling, deep breathing provides an effective means of stimulating this vital nerve and relieving any stressors from your mind. For maximum effect, take slow, deep breaths through both nostrils; exhale longer than you inhale.
Do this exercise while sitting comfortably on either a chair or floor. Start with your right hand on the outside of your left shoulder with thumb pressing chin; inhale and expand stomach while moving rib cage upward. On exhale twist to opposite side and repeat. This exercise helps activate vagus nerve while relaxing nervous system.
Other exercises to stimulate the vagus nerve include yawning, singing loudly or gargling cold water – however it should be noted that these activities may induce a relaxing and sleepy state, so take caution if engaging in them prior to bedtime or while driving.
Daily practice of these exercises is recommended to keep your nervous system balanced throughout the day. Many find it useful to do them first thing in the morning or shortly before sleep; remember to start off slowly and gradually increase how long you spend doing these activities.
