What is the Vagus Nerve?

Meditation

The vagus nerve is one of twelve cranial nerves that link the brain to other parts of the body. These nerves can send signals that involve sensory functions (smells, sights, tastes, and sounds) or they can be involved with movements or have motory functions. The vagus nerve is one of a few that can do both of these functions and is also the longest cranial nerve in the body, stretching from the brainstem to the colon. 

As the main component of the parasympathetic nervous system (the rest and digest division of our autonomic nervous system), the vagus nerve oversees several important functions in the body, including mood, immune response, digestion, and heart rate. It is also a main connection between the brain and the gut, and it is becoming more apparent that stimulation of the vagus nerve can have an impact on treating not only gastrointestinal disorders but also psychiatric disorders.  

There is growing evidence that stimulation of the vagal nerve can have a positive effect on mood and anxiety disorders. It is believed that activation of the vagus nerve, known as vagal tone, is correlated with reducing the stress response, and that certain breathing exercises can be used to increase vagal tone. This may result in increased resilience and lead to mitigating the symptoms of mood and anxiety symptoms.  

How to make the vagus nerve to work for you? 

Have you ever wondered why they suggest counting to ten before responding when you are feeling extreme emotions like anger? Taking a few moments to just breathe can relax your stress response and allow you to move towards a much more calm state.  How you breathe, though, is important to how impactful this response can be.  

We’ve mentioned before how the body doesn’t differentiate from a real stress or a perceived stress. Ruminating over all the items you feel you should be getting done causes the same response as getting mugged at night in the park.  

It’s these chronic stressors that we create from our ever-expanding to do lists and endless worries that are the target for a deep breathing practice. When we can calm our bodies between the real events that happen in our lives, we can start to see an improvement in disruptive mood and anxiety symptoms. 

The key to ensuring you are stimulating your vagal tone is to find an activity that causes you to take a deep belly breath and to breathe out longer than you are breathing in. To begin to make the vagus nerve work for you, we suggest adding one of these practices into your daily or weekly routine: 

  • Deep Breathing 
  • Meditation 
  • Yoga 
  • Tai Chi or Qigong 
  • Humming, singing, or speaking 
  • Laughter 
  • Exercise  

If you are not used to doing these types of activities, it can take time to make them a regular part of your routine. Start small so that you can take the time to find out what will work best for you. You don’t want to add to your stress by adding in one of these stress-relieving activities too quickly. As you are working towards a practice that you enjoy, you might find it helpful to try this quick breathing practice you can do almost anywhere and anytime: The Relaxing Breath Exercise. 

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00044/full