What is Vagus Nerve? And how does a vagus nerve work? Learn more from our Bendigo naturopathy post below.
A lot of you have probably heard about the Vagus nerve at some point. It may have been when someone was talking about alternative ways to supporting your mood, or possibly digestion. Two systems that may seem completely unrelated; but a lot of research has highlighted just how connected the two are. Still, no matter what you may have heard of it, the question of what it is remains.
The Vagus nerve is the longest cranial nerve in your body. It is responsible for helping to regulate the function of your internal organs. It carries signals between your brain, heart, and digestive system. This nerve is a key part of your parasympathetic nervous system.
How Vagus Nerve and Vagus Tone Work
More important than the Vagus nerve is Vagal tone. This term, Vagal tone, is a biological process that represents the activity of your Vagus nerve. It helps to determines how well your body responds to stress, including how quickly it relaxes after a stressful event.
There is a positive feedback loop between good physical health, positive emotions, and vagal tone. When you increase your vagal tone, you support your mental and physical wellbeing and vice versa.
Supporting your mood and physical wellbeing helps support your vagal tone. This means that you have a better response to stress. Making bouncing back after a stressful event easier overall.
Stimulation of Vagus Nerve
You can stimulate your Vagus nerve naturally, which supports and improves vagal tone. There are many ways you can do this, a few of them are listed below:
- Cold exposure: having a cold shower or wearing shorts and a tshirt outside for a short period of time.
- Breathing deeply and slowly: activates the Vagus nerve and helps reduce anxiety.
- Singing or humming activates the muscles in the back of your throat which are connected to your Vagus nerve.
- Probiotic supplementation: gut bacteria also help the Vagus nerve improve brain function.
- Meditation: helps improve vagal tone.
- Omega-3 Fatty Acid supplementation
- Excercise
Expected Results for Vagus Tone
When you follow these steps and improve your vagal tone, you help yourself to live your best life.
You send a message to your body that it is time to relax and de-stress. This sets you up to be able to better manage stress and anxiety when they arise in your life. Which, in the long run, helps you to bounce back from stressful situation faster.
Book your appoinment now with Bendigo naturopathy here.
