How To Stimulate Your Vagus And Calm Down (From Research)

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Feeling stressed? You can easily calm down without drugs or devices, if you know how to stimulate your vagus nerves.

The vagus, also known as the “wandering nerve,” is the second-longest nerve in our body, reaching 20–25 inches.

• It starts at the neck and winds its way down through the chest to the liver, gut, and kidneys.
• It signals the lungs to breathe, the heart to beat, and the gut to digest (“rest and digest”).
• It also helps keep us in a stable state of equilibrium, called homeostasis.

Stimulating the vagus nerve can make you less anxious, lower your blood pressure, slow down your heart rate, and lift your mood.

Let’s learn some simple, research-backed ways to ease your stress by activating your vagus nerve.

How To Stimulate The Vagus Nerve Naturally And Relax?

We have two vagus nerves. Each can activate the parasympathetic nervous system to induce a state of calm and relaxation.

Here are some ways to stimulate the vagus nerve and calm down:

1. Diaphragmatic Breathing or Belly Breathing.

Belly breathing or diaphragmatic breathing is a simple way to stimulate the vagus nerve.

Here’s how to do belly breathing:

1. Lie down on the back on a flat surface, with your knees bent. Use pillows under your head and your knees for support, if needed.
2. Place one hand on your upper chest and the other on your belly, just below your rib cage.
3. Breathe in slowly through your nose, letting the air in deeply towards the lower belly. The hand on your chest should remain still, while the other hand on your belly should rise.
4. Breathe out slowly through pursed lips, drawing in your abdominal muscles to release more air. The hand on your belly should move inward as your abdomen caves in.
5. Aim to slow your breathing rate down to 5–7 breaths per minute. (Normal is 18–20 breaths/minute.)

Just 10 minutes of belly breathing every day can help you be calmer, and avoid getting triggered by anxious stimuli.

2. Carotid Sinus (Vagus Nerve) Massage.

Carotid Sinus Massage (CSM), or Vagus Nerve Massage, is massaging the carotid sinus to slow down the heart rate and lower our blood pressure.

• The carotid sinus or “carotid bulb” is a small bundle of nerve endings sitting next to the carotid arteries in our neck.
• There are two carotid sinuses, one on each side of the neck, placed roughly below the angle of the jaw, right where each carotid artery forks out into two branches.
• The carotid sinus has chemical and pressure receptors that tell the brain to maintain a controlled supply of blood to the brain, the heart, and the muscles.

Carotid massage is applying finger pressure in longitudinal strokes to the carotid sinus, usually the area of the maximum carotid artery pulsation.

Safe Method of Carotid Sinus Massage:

1. Lie down on your back in a comfortable position.
2. Turn your head gently to the side, away from the carotid sinus you want to massage. For example, if you wish to massage the right carotid sinus, turn your head to the left.
3. Using your index and middle fingers, lightly feel the side of your neck until you can feel the carotid pulse. This is located just below the angle of your jaw.
4. Once you have located the carotid pulse, slide your fingers slightly to the side, towards the midline of your neck. You should be able to feel a slightly thicker, cord-like structure — this is the carotid sinus.
5. Gently massage the carotid sinus area by lightly stroking your fingers up and down the cord-like structure for 5–10 seconds. Avoid pressing too hard.
6. During the massage, monitor your consciousness. Stop the massage immediately if you experience any dizziness, nausea, or other concerning symptoms.

Warnings:

• Improperly doing carotid sinus massage can cause you to faint and lose consciousness (syncope).
• Do not massage both carotids at the same time. Make sure there is a 10- to 20-second gap between each side carotid sinus massage.
• Do not press the carotid sinus too hard or too long — it can turn off the blood supply to your brain, making you faint and fall.
• Red alert: Do not massage your carotid sinuses if you have a medical history of cerebrovascular disease or carotid bruits.

3. Looking At A Peaceful Scene.

Now, look at this picture — Supermoon of November 13, 2016, shot by Linda Schafer from Ramona, California.

While looking at the soft, large moon rising from the horizon, the trees in silhouette, and the distant line of mountains against a scarlet sky, you might have unconsciously taken a slow, deep breath.

If you haven’t, and if you are not feeling too self-conscious, take a slow, deep breath. Try it now: one slow, deep breath while gazing at the picture for a few unbroken seconds.

Once you’ve done that, notice how it relaxes you almost instantly. Because inhaling deeply has always done so; we’re born with this ability.

It is a body process that stimulates the vagus nerve via the partition between our chest and abdomen, called the diaphragm.

So, the credit for that deep-breathing-induced relaxation goes to our body’s “wandering nerve,” or the vagus nerve.

[FYI: A Supermoon occurs when Earth, moon, and sun all line up with the moon at its nearest to Earth. It can be around 14% bigger and 30% brighter than a full moon at its farthest from Earth. Astronomers call it the Perigee Moon.]

• More Ways To Relax Via Vagus Nerve

• Slow exercises like yoga — Yoga, through the combination of gentle movement and deep breathing, can activate the vagus nerve.
• Hearty, mirthful laughter — Laughter, especially the deep, belly laughter that involves the diaphragm, is good for stimulating the vagus nerve and relaxing us.
• Coughing and gargling — Gargling with water or making humming sounds can stimulate the vagus nerve through the muscles in the throat. Coughing or gagging lightly can also help stimulate the vagus nerve.
• Holding your breath until almost breathless — Temporary breath-holding can trigger the diving reflex. This reflex evolved to conserve oxygen when the body is immersed in cold water, like when diving or swimming. It is mediated via the vagus nerve. It slows down the heart rate, redirects blood flow away from the hands and feet to the heart and brain, and makes the spleen release stored red blood cells
• Loving-kindness meditation (LKM) — Practices that cultivate feelings of compassion and connection can help regulate the vagus nerve and the parasympathetic system.
• Splashing cold water on the face — Cold exposure is an effective way to activate the vagus nerve. You could splash cold water on your face or take a cold shower (or dip in an ice-bathtub) to activate your vagus.
• Valsalva maneuver (breathing out with nose held closed) — Take a deep breath. Hold it by closing your windpipe at the throat (using the glottis), as if you are about to cough. Then, still holding your breath, push down with your belly area, as if straining for a bowel movement. This raises the pressure within your chest, which can trigger your vagus nerve.
• Tightening abdominal muscles — This maneuver, similar to the Valsalva technique, can stimulate the vagus nerve.

Facts About The Vagus Nerve

The name “vagus” comes from Latin, meaning “wandering,” and so the nerve is also named the “wandering nerve.”

These are some of the things that your vagus nerves do:

• Activate the parasympathetic “rest and digest” nervous system, promoting homeostasis
• Regulate involuntary bodily processes like heartbeat, breathing, and digestion
• Control smooth muscle contraction of the bladder during urination
• Can induce vomiting or fainting if excessively stimulated
• Can cause fainting (syncope) if overstimulated
• Regulate release of tears, saliva, and stomach acid
• Trigger coughing and gagging reflexes
• Control the inflammatory reflex

Since we are on the parasympathetic system, let’s get a view from above of our nervous system:

• Our nervous system has two parts: central and peripheral.
• The central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord.
• The peripheral is made up of nerves that branch out from the brain and spinal cord.
• The peripheral system is divided into the somatic and the autonomic nervous systems.
• The autonomic nervous system is then divided into sympathetic and parasympathetic systems.

The Sympathetic nervous system controls our body’s functions when we are on high alert. It acts to put up a fight-or-flight or stress response.

The Parasympathetic system controls sexual arousal, produces saliva and tears, and regulates urination, digestion, and defecation.

The vagus nerve is a mainstay of the parasympathetic nervous system, and it:

• It brings sensory information from the inner organs—the heart, lungs, gut, and liver—to the brain.
• Its motor functions involve moving the muscles that help in speaking, swallowing, and moving the bowels for digesting food.

“The vagus connects the brain to the gut.”

Vagus and The Big O in Women: The vagus nerve is apparently the key to the female climactic experience (The Big O).

Studies show that women with even complete spinal cord injuries can have the climactic experience via cervical self-stimulation (CSS). This becomes possible because the vagus nerve bypasses the spinal cord, providing a direct sensory pathway from the female genital tract, cervix, and uterus to the brain.

How does the vagus nerve calm us?

When stimulated, the vagus nerve releases the antianxiety chemical Acetylcholine (ACh), a neurotransmitter that calms us down. The ACh relaxes the smooth muscles in our artery walls, dilates the arteries, and slows down our heartbeats. It also helps build our long-term and short-term memories.

We can indirectly stimulate the vagus to release acetylcholine into our bodies. We do not need to carry out a thing as drastic as surgery to do so. That was something the German-born psychobiologist Otto Loewi did in his original experiment (we talk about the fascinating story later in this article).

Christopher Bergland, an ultramarathoner and endurance athlete, writes in his book The Athlete’s Way: Sweat and the Biology of Bliss:

The vagus nerve is the commander-in-chief when it comes to having grace under pressure.

What does vagal tone indicate?

Your vagal tone reflects your overall levels of vagal activity.

Vagal tone is clinically assessed by your heart rate variability (HRV), or the beat-to-beat variations between heartbeats. Studies point out that a low HRV is bad for us, as it is associated with an increased risk of heart disease and death from several causes.

When the vagus nerve is healthy, it has a good vagal tone, and it performs its functions well. People who go to the gym, jog, practice yoga, or play a sport on a regular basis have a strong vagal tone. They can cope better with stress.

Scientists have found that self-generated positive emotions via loving-kindness meditation boost positive feelings in comparison to the control group, an effect that is controlled by baseline vagal tone.

When the vagal tone is low, we experience symptoms like constant fatigue, allergic reactions, migraine, tinnitus, and mood disorders, among others.

Alcoholics and heavy drinkers, those who are bedridden or lead sedentary lives, chain smokers, and overweight people have low vagal tone. A low vagal tone is also seen in digestive disorders and inflammatory bowel diseases.

Excessive vagal tone may cause vasovagal fainting, in which HRV increases.

What is Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS)?

Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) is a medical method to stimulate the vagus. Surgeons implant a tiny pulse generator beneath the chest skin, which intermittently sends mild electric impulses to the brain via the vagus.

It has been approved by the United States FDA for the treatment of two chronic conditions: epilepsy and autism. It has also been successfully used to treat depression unresponsive to usual therapies.

VNS also appears to be a promising option for treatment-resistant anxiety disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Patrick Ganzer from Texas Biomedical Device Center showed how VNS could enhance neuroplasticity—the remodeling of the nervous system.

VNS has also benefitted people who suffer from chronic pain and stiffness. Neurosurgeon Kevin J. Tracey discovered that stimulating the vagus nerve with electricity can reduce inflammation of rheumatic arthritis.

However, what if we could stimulate the vagus nerve ourselves, naturally? Read on.

Loewi’s Dream of Frogs – And Vagus

This is the true story of how a scientist dreamed of frogs, conducted an experiment, and won the Nobel Prize — all thanks to the vagus nerve.

In the early 20th century, scientists were trying to figure out how information traveled between two nerve cells across microscopic gaps, called synapses. Many researchers were collaborating to find the answer.

Otto Loewi, a German scientist, visited London in 1902 as a guest researcher at Ernest Starling’s laboratory at University College. There he met Henry Dale, a close friend and fellow researcher. The two irrevocably changed the course of physiology research.

Twenty years later, in 1921, while reading late into the night in his lab in Germany, Loewi dreamed of an experiment that explained the mystery of how information moved between synapses. He woke up in the middle of the night, scribbled some notes, and then fell back asleep.

The next morning, when he got up, he couldn’t remember most of the dream or his thoughts on it. Much to his chagrin, he couldn’t even decipher the scribbled notes he’d written the night before.

Fortunately, the next night, he had the same dream. This time, he got up and rushed to the institute’s lab to carry out the experiment.

He placed two beating frog hearts in two jars of saline solutions. One of these hearts still had the vagus nerve attached. When he stimulated this heart with electricity, it slowed down.

He then poured the saline from the first jar into the second, the one that contained the heart without a vagus. To his surprise, this heart also slowed down.

He reasoned that the first heart had released a chemical into the fluid, causing the second heart to slow down. He called the substance “Vagusstoff.”

Later, he discovered that the substance released was from the vagus nerve rather than the heart.

Eventually, his English friend Henry Dale isolated the chemical and renamed it Acetylcholine (ACh).

In 1936, Loewi and Dale received the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology for discovering the first neurotransmitter.

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Final Words

Finally, calming the vagus nerve can also help us regulate food intake and manage obesity.

In their paper titled Vagus Nerve as Modulator of the Brain-Gut Axis in Psychiatric and Inflammatory Disorders, the authors Breit, Kupferberg, Rogler, and Hasler write:

The vagus nerve is an essential part of the brain-gut axis and plays an important role in the modulation of inflammation, the maintenance of intestinal homeostasis, and the regulation of food intake, satiety, and energy homeostasis.

Moreover, the vagus nerve plays an important role in the pathogenesis of psychiatric disorders, obesity as well as other stress-induced and inflammatory diseases.

√ Also Read: 10 Best Ways To Refresh/Reboot Your Mind

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