Vagus nerve exercises for stress resilience
Firstly, what on earth is the vagus nerve?
The vagus nerve is a cranial nerve that starts in your brain and travels down to your organs to help regulate your heart rate, breathing, digestion and stress response.
Information can pass from your brain to your organs and from your organs to your brain via your vagus nerve. This means that your body is constantly updating you on any threat - real or perceived so that you can release the necessary hormones to deal with the stressor effectively.
Your vagus nerve acts as a counterbalance to your fight or flight stress response (sympathetic nervous system). It helps you to feel safe enough to switch to your rest and digest mode (parasympathetic nervous system), helping you to feel calm.
Why would you need exercises for your vagus nerve?
The fast pace of modern life can leave your nervous system feeling under constant threat - but instead of the occasional wolf at the cave door, our threat is the relentlessness of emails, financial pressure, social media comparison, and a lack of connection.
By practising these exercises, you will be sending a message to your nervous system that you are safe and that it's ok to back down from its hypervigilance, helping you not to sweat the small stuff and leaving enough resources in the tank for genuinely stressful situations. As a result, you will be more resilient and adaptive and can regain a sense of calm after a stressful event.
Practices to try to support your vagal tone
There are a few ways to support your vagal tone, from breathing exercises and working your vocal cords to external stimulation.
Here is what you can try...
Anything that will help you get out of your head and into your body will keep your nervous system.
- Yoga
- Deep, slow belly breathing
- Being barefoot on the grass
- Cold shower - start with 20 seconds at the end of your warm shower and slowly increase the time
Anything that will stimulate your throat or avenue of expression.
- Singing
- Laughter
- Chanting or humming
- Splashing cold water onto your face and neck
Any kind of touch
- Massage or self-massage
- CranioSacral therapy
- Acupuncture
- Reflexology
When is the best time for vagus nerve stimulation?
It is always better to build a self-care practice during the calm periods in your life - when we are stressed, we go into survival mode and forget about all the tools in our box that we can use to de-stress.
Cherry-pick which exercises feel right for you, and consistently stack them onto a habit you already have - so splashing cold water on your face after you have brushed your teeth or practising a couple of yoga stretches while you are waiting for the kettle to boil will be more likely to get your new habit to become a part of your routine.
You can still use these exercises when you are in a state of high stress or anxiety - deep breathing is accessible at all times, but consistent daily practice of the exercises that feel right for you is the best way to stimulate your vagus nerve.
The benefits of regular vagus nerve exercises include improvements in mood, pain management, reduced inflammation, reduced blood pressure and building your resilience to stress, helping you feel less anxious and more peaceful.
Alison is a registered acupuncturist and co-owner of Blossom Natural Health in Chelmsford. She has been specialising in fertility and women's health for the last 20 years and is the fertility acupuncturist for Bourn Hall fertility clinic in Wickford. She loves combining Acupuncture, Cranio-Sacral Therapy and Somato-Emotional Release to help her clients with stress, digestive issue and pain relief.