What is the Vagus Nerve, Why It is Important to Your Health and How To Nurture It

November 7, 2023

Hands up if anyone has heard of the vagus nerve.

How about vagal tone?

If you haven't, you have come to the right blog!

Let's get right to it.

Here is a brief overview that will help you understand the what, why, and how of the vagus nerve and its health.

And why it is something that deserves your attention.

Hint: it's important to your well-being.

The vagus nerve is the tenth cranial nerve out of a total of twelve cranial nerve pairs that we have.

All cranial nerves exist in pairs and originate from our brain. So, we have two vagus nerves, a right and a left.

Some of our cranial nerves send sensory information to the brain (smell, sight, taste, and sounds). Other cranial nerves control the movement of various muscles and the function of glands. Some cranial nerves are mixed and do both.

The vagus nerves are the longest cranial nerves that you have. They run from your brain to your large intestine.

Vagus in Latin means “wandering”. And that's what the vagus nerve does very well! They wander from your brain to your neck, to your chest and then to your abdomen.

You could guess that the vagus nerve is connected to many different parts of your body as it travels its path. You could also guess that the vagus nerve will affect your heart, lungs, immune system, and digestive system.

Let's back out from the picture even a bit further and mention the autonomic nervous system. Your autonomic nervous system is the part of your nervous system that happens automatically. You don't have to think about it. It just does what it does.

There are two main components of this system: the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems.

When your heart rate and breathing increase because you see a bear or because you are angry, that is your sympathetic system taking over (think of an adrenaline rush). This is called your "fight or flight" response.

When you are more in a chill state, the parasympathetic system takes control of things. This is called your "rest and digest" response.

The vagus nerves are the primary nerves of your parasympathetic nervous system. They fire unconsciously and control things such as digestion, breathing, blood pressure, and heart rate.

Because the vagus nerve is involved with the function of so many things, you may experience different symptoms depending on what part of the nerve is affected.

Vagal tone tells us how well our vagus nerve is functioning. When the vagus nerve isn't functioning properly, this is considered low vagal tone.

Low vagal tone is associated with IBS, Crohn’s, Parkinson’s, depression, anxiety, metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, irregular heartbeat and so much more.

You could experience abdominal pain and bloating, acid reflux, changes to your heart rate, blood pressure or blood sugar, difficulty swallowing, dizziness, loss of appetite, feeling full quickly, wheezing, nausea, and vomiting.

And so on.

If one can improve their vagal tone, one may see improvement in many gastrointestinal illnesses, mental health, cardiovascular function, and immune function.

You should now have a good idea of why the health of your vagus nerve is important!

I hope you can see that honouring and supporting your "chill" state is super important. Constantly pushing onward, stressing the body, and being in a perpetual state where our sympathetic nervous system is constantly firing will have dire consequences.

Below are some ideas how to take care of your vagus nerve which will subsequently increase your vagal tone. You may notice that some are the regular health suggestions you have heard in the general sense but some will be different.

Here goes:

Exercise

Walking daily with no distractions is a great way to help your vagus nerve.

More exercise isn’t better. Too much high-intensity exercise with no recovery time can decrease your vagal tone.

Remember, the vagus nerve contributes to your "rest and digest" response.

Breathing

Since the vagus nerve helps control breathing, practicing certain types of breathing can help improve vagal tone.

Mindful breathing. This contributes to helping the body leave the fight or flight mode that may be lurking. Being aware of your breath while being in a full body scan of how you feel helps you become more in tune with your body. This will promote relaxation and reduce tension. Close your eyes and do this often.

Box breathing. Breathe in through your nose for four seconds, hold in for four seconds, breathe out over four seconds, and hold in an exhale state for four seconds. Do this for at least 10 rounds.

478 breathing. Breathe in through your nose over a period of four seconds, hold for seven seconds, and breathe out through your nose over eight seconds. Do as many rounds as you need to feel relaxed.

Diet

Anything that is good for the gut and the brain is good for the vagus nerve. An anti-inflammatory, nutrient-dense diet, probiotics, and fish oil supplementation will support the vagus nerve.

You may have also heard of the gut-brain axis. Your gut and your brain are in constant communication through your nervous and hormonal systems.

Support your gut!

Cold water immersion

Sounds cold, yes? However, cold immersion has been shown to increase your vagal tone.

What does that look like?

Some people hop right into an ice bath.

Or some turn the shower to cold and stand there for 10 to 20 seconds and work to slowly increase the time.

A baby step might be to fill a bowl with cold water and ice and put your face in the bowl. Hold for 10 seconds. Do it at least three times.

Still too harsh for you? Start by splashing your face in cold water. Progress as you can.

Binaural Beats

A binaural beat happens when you listen to two tones at the same time that have a slightly different frequency.

Some research indicates that listening to certain binaural beats can increase the strength of certain brain waves. One of these brain waves is the Delta wave. Delta is the lowest frequency state and has been linked to deep sleep, meditation, healing, pain relief, and cortisol reduction.

Listening to Delta binaural beats will help increase your vagal tone. Try it through the day when you need to chill or at night when you are going to sleep.

Here is one on YouTube. There are many so find one that you like!

Vagal Maneuvers

Butterfly tapping. This is a self-soothing technique that helps with anxiety, panic, and overwhelm. Cross your arms in front of your chest and alternate tapping on your arms or your chest. While doing this, take a deep breath through the nose and exhale through the mouth. Add in positive affirmations as well, such as I am safe, I am loved.....use whatever fits for you at that moment.

The physical touch can lower cortisol (stress hormone) and produce serotonin (chill hormone).

Neck movement. Start by turning your head to the right and then to the left. You may feel tension on the opposite side of the direction you are turning. Then go back to the right and move your eyes to the left. Keep doing this until you sigh or yawn.

Cradling. Put one hand on the back of your neck and the other hand on the forehead. Put light pressure on these spots. Do this when you feel anxious or want to feel safe. Deep breathe while doing this.

The Salamander. There are a few levels of this. Here's the basic one: Put your right hand in your armpit. Put your left hand on your head and pull your ear to the left. Look upward with your eyes and hold for 30 seconds. Do three rounds on both sides.

Torso Twist. Grasp the opposite elbow in front of your body. Twist your torso for 5 seconds while deep breathing. Do this at three levels: slightly below chest level, at chest level, and shoulder level.

Ear circles. Place your index fingers on the top flat part of your ears. Rotate your fingers in circles. Relax.

This and That

While the research for the following is not as robust as the other suggestions, theoretically they should support your vagus nerve….and they are easy to do!

Try humming or singing daily. Gargling with salt water is also said to be helpful.

Since the vagus nerve passes through the diaphragm, a good belly laugh may be useful. 😊

Lay with your legs up for 15 to 20 minutes. This may be a good time to do some mindful body scans or some breathwork.

Self-massage of the neck. Put some oil on your hands and rub your neck with circular motions. Move up to the jaw. Any sort of rubbing motion on your neck will help relieve tension.

Conclusion

Those should keep you busy!

Make a commitment to try one or two of these a day to start the process of increasing your vagal tone.

These activities aren't just a one-and-done sort of thing. They need consistency. You need to practice them daily to show your body that it is safe. All of the suggestions above help give notice to the body that things are okay.

In a nutshell:

Be physically active. Be mindful. Breathe. Consume a good diet. Support your gut with probiotics. Massage your neck. Move your neck. Laugh. Hum. Tap. Focus on your breath. Do a full-body scan. Listen to binaural beats.

You got this.