Tapping into the Power of the Vagus Nerve.
What is the vagus nerve?
Let's delve into the fascinating world of the vagus nerve. You may have come across its name before, as it holds the distinction of being the longest nerve in your body. This extraordinary nerve acts as a vital bridge between your brain and essential organs like the gut, heart, and lungs.
Derived from the Latin word "vagus," meaning "wanderer," the name perfectly encapsulates the vagus nerve's role. It meanders throughout your body, connecting with various organs and overseeing a multitude of vital physiological processes.
Notably, the vagus nerve plays a pivotal role in the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems, which are responsible for the "fight or flight" and "rest and digest" responses in our nervous system. It assists in seamlessly transitioning between these two states based on the presence or absence of stressors in our environment.
However, chronic stress can impair the vagus nerve's ability to switch the nervous system back into parasympathetic mode. This places an undue burden on your body, increasing the risk of conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, depression, anxiety, and more when trapped in a perpetual sympathetic state.
Thankfully, there is hope! By actively "toning" the vagus nerve, you can enhance your resilience to stress and facilitate your body's smooth transition into the calming embrace of the parasympathetic mode once stressors have dissipated.
Deep Breathing for Toning the Vagus Nerve
Breathing deeply causes your diaphragm to stimulate the vagus nerve, which helps to encourage the relaxation response of the parasympathetic nervous system. This is a useful technique that can be done anywhere, whenever you feel overwhelmed by stress and in need of calm.
Try the following breathing exercise to help calm your nervous system when you next feel stressed:
Breathe in through your nose for a count of four
Breathe out through your nose for a count of eight.
Ensure there is no pause between inhale and exhale, and exhale and inhale.
Breathe like this for up to five minutes.
Devices for Enhancing Vagal Tone
The level of activity in your vagus nerve, known as vagal tone, plays a crucial role in your body's ability to relax and recover from stress. Fortunately, there are several ways to improve your vagal tone, including self-practices like deep breathing, meditation, humming, singing, yoga, and positive self-talk. Additionally, there are specialised devices available that can simulate the effects of these exercises using infrasound technology or electrical impulses.
Two notable examples of vagus nerve devices are Sensate and Nurosym.
Sensate is a device placed on the chest that utilises sonic resonance to stimulate the vagus nerve through gentle vibrations at low frequencies. On the other hand, Nurosym is a wearable device that attaches to the tragus (a small protrusion in front of the ear canal) and delivers targeted electrical impulses to the brain via the vagus nerve, effectively activating the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes relaxation and balance.
