Vagus Nerve Regulation

Dr. Scott Greenapple

A relatively recent treatment seems to be sweeping across the healthcare industry.

Although we have known for many years what the Vagus nerve is responsible for, relatively newer information is available on how many systems are affected by stimulating or increasing what is known as Vagal tone. You would be hard-pressed these days to attend a health conference, read a health magazine, attend a biohacking conference, or visit any social media health website and not find an article or two on the Vagus nerve.

Is it possible that this one long nerve in the body can help reduce stress, anxiety, and panic attacks, improve sleep/insomnia, maintain a healthy heart, dampen inflammation, maintain a healthy gut and digestion, increase heart rate variability, increase neuroplasticity (brain growth and rewiring), and regulate blood pressure and breathing? With science to back it up, the short answer is a resounding yes.

The Vagus Nerve is the 10th nerve of the 12 cranial nerves we have. The word Vagus means wandering; this is the longest nerve in the body. The vagus nerve leaves the brain and ends in the large intestine. Two nerves run on both sides of the body as it exits the skull. From there, it first has sensory fibers that go to the inside of the lower part of the ear (the concha). Then, it goes to the throat area, pharynx, and larynx. From there, it goes to the lungs, heart, and all the organs. The Vagus nerve is the regulator of our parasympathetic nervous system (parasympathetic is the rest and digest portion of the autonomic nervous system, and the sympathetic is the fight, flight, and freeze portion). Both systems must maintain a balance, harmony, or homeostasis in physiology to maintain proper health.

The Vagus Nerve is approximately 80% sensory and 20% motor.

It is a bi-directional (two-way) communication system that sends more sensory information from the gut organs to the brain. It tells your brain what is happening in your vital organs.

Your autonomic nervous system runs involuntarily. Things like blood pressure, heart rate, respiration, digestion, and cellular activity are not under your conscious control. However, we can help control some of these things if our Vagus nerve is stimulated or an increase of the Vagal tone is accomplished to help with increasing parasympathetic activity. Years ago, the only way to stimulate the vagus nerve was through invasive surgery, which involved implanting an electronic device into the upper chest to activate the vagus nerve. Now, with some recent research and science, we know of many ways to increase your vagal tone. Things like Acupuncture with some specific points (the ear is one), Electro acupuncture with other specific points, and small electro devices that you can clip on the ear (painless and instant calming) can be done in the office or with a home unit. Some simpler and can be done at home for self-care techniques are things that stimulate your vocal area (the vagus nerve passes through this and is motor here so that vibrations will stimulate). Things like singing, humming, and gargling are effective. Cold water immersion, another highly talked about self-care technique these days, will activate the Vagus Nerve.

When you immerse in cold water, your sympathetic kick in, your heart rate goes up, and tension in your body increases.

Then, to help regulate, your parasympathetic increases for balance, and this is all regulated via the Vagus Nerve, increasing Vagal tone. Deep belly breaths will increase Vagal tone as the diaphragm will flatten with a belly breath, which increases tension on the Vagus nerve. Slow, deep breaths and longer exhales will increase parasympathetic, governed by the Vagus Nerve.

Meditation and movement meditation, like Qi Gong, can profoundly affect the Vagus nerve.

Overall, the Vagus Nerve is a major player in the mind/body, emotional, and physical aspects of our well-being. Due to technology, there are now very affordable electronic devices to stimulate the Vagus nerve that can be practiced in an office or home. There are many ways we can self-regulate with simple practices you can do at home without equipment.

Remember, your body is a mighty machine. There are many ways to increase your overall wellness, immune response, and emotional balance. But it takes practice, mindset, and balance/harmony techniques to help turn on the power within.

Watch the brief Motivation video attached for more information on Vagus Nerve.