The Vagus Nerve
The vagus nerve is a nerve connecting and governing multiple organs in our body. This nerve activates the rest-and-digest state, which is vital for proper digestion and healing. Some signs of compromised vagus nerve tone may be poor digestion, anxiety and depression, irregular or low heart rate and increased inflammation.
The vagal tone can be measured by heart rate variability - this is the fluctuation of the heart rate between inhalation and exhalation. Higher variability suggests higher vagal tone. An easy way to measure this is also by observing how fast your heart rate returns to normal after exercising.
The vagus nerve is part of the autonomic nervous system (governing the instinctual functions such as breathing and heart rate) and it travels down the neck to connect to other organs. For this reason creating safety in the body and environment, and stimulating the throat muscles are excellent tools in practising vagal tone.
3 ways to stimulate the vagus nerve
Sing — Muscles present at the vocal cords are also connected to the vagus nerve. Singing, humming and chanting are a beautiful way to increase vagal tone while practising creative expression.
Move — Exercise is known to release endorphins and stimulate vagus nerve. While yoga and tai chi are especially good in enhancing the body-mind balance, all low impact movement have been found to increase vagal tone.
Switch off the news — Perceived threat switches our body into “fight-or-flight“ mode and dampens the vagus nerve. Safe and supportive environment encourages parasympathetic nervous system activity and maintains vagal tone.
Written by Iida Vidgren
Iida is a qualified naturopath with a Bachelor of Health Science (Naturopathy). Her special interest is in somatic expression of emotional health, exploring the body’s expression of its inner world. Iida helps resolve emotional patterns causing imbalance of the body with vibrational medicine, herbal medicine and food as medicine.
Naturopaatti Iida Vidgren valmistui terveystieteiden maisteriksi vuonna 2021 Australiassa. Hän pyrkii tukemaan kokonaisvaltaista hyvinvointia tunneterveyden kautta, ja uskoo että tämä on usein puuttuva palanen yksilön terveydessä ja hyvinvoinnissa. Iida käyttää vibrationaalisia rohdoksia kuten kukkatippoja, sekä luontaistuotteita ja ravinnelisiä tukemaan kehon eheytymistä ja kokonaivaltaista hyvinvointia. Iida työskentelee virtuaalisella klinikallaan ‘elo holistic health’ etäkonsultaatioiden välityksellä. Konsultaatiot saatavilla Suomeksi ja Englanniksi.
