You might have heard of vagus nerve stimulation before, or you might be hearing it just now for the first time! Either way, it’s important to know that vagus nerve stimulation can work wonders when it comes to improving wellness and your overall quality of life.
The question is how does it work? And what exactly should you know about it before you begin your journey of trying it for yourself? We’ve got you covered with this quick yet effective version of vagus nerve stimulation 101 along with our suggestion for the best vagus nerve stimulation device. Let’s get started!
What is the Vagus Nerve?
A good place to start is with a thorough understanding of what the vagus nerve is. This is the longest nerve in the body that runs all the way from your brain to your other organs such as the heart, lungs, gallbladder, and digestive tract. This means it’s in charge of your body’s automatic functions.
Functions of the Vagus Nerve
Since the vagus nerve connects to so many important systems in the body, it’s able to influence things like your mood, emotions, and even your mental health. Here are some of the specifics and the different areas it helps function.
Mood
Your brain is what’s largely responsible for your mood, which makes it interesting that the vagus nerve is connected to this area! As the vagus nerve becomes stimulated it can help to regulate things like depression and anxiety. It’s sure to help put you in a good mood even if you don’t deal with symptoms such as these.
Immune system
If you’re looking to boost your immune system then vagus nerve stimulation may just be the way to go. That’s because the vagus nerve helps control your immune system responses and can regulate inflammation.
Not only that, it’s been known to improve things like infections, allergies, and autoimmune diseases.
Muscle and skin sensations
The vagus nerve happens to play a big part in passing signals between your skin, muscles, and the brain. It can help with sensation as it’s what allows you to feel things like heat. It can also help to regulate the different muscle contractions you might feel on a day-to-day basis.
Digestion
When it comes to digestion, the vagus nerve plays a part by stimulating the release of mucus and saliva. This is what allows you to break down your food.
The vagus nerve can also help to stimulate intestinal contractions which will help the food to move through your digestive system. Without a properly functioning vagus nerve you might notice issues with your digestion!
Benefits of Vagus Nerve Stimulation
It’s clear that the vagus nerve can affect all different systems in the body, but what direct benefits can it provide? Here are some of them.
The ability to recover more easily
When you’re faced with a stressful situation, increased vagal tones means your body will be able to recover more easily. And quicker too.
You’ll become more resilient in situations that might have really stressed you out previously.
Better heart health
Your heart receives major benefits from vagus nerve stimulation as it helps to decrease your heart rate variability. Your heart will be healthy and your cardiovascular health is sure to improve overall.
Improved digestion
You might have guessed it based on what we already mentioned in regards to the vagus nerve and digestion, but VNS can help to improve it! When you have increased vagal tone your food is able to pass through your digestive system more easily. You can say goodbye to things like bloating and constipation.
Better emotional regulation
If you find that you’re quite reactive to the different situations that get thrown your way then you may benefit from vagus nerve stimulation. It allows you to better regulate your emotions and stay calm when things don’t quite go the way you like them to.
How to Stimulate the Vagus Nerve
If you’re looking to experience all of the benefits listed above, then you’re probably wondering how to stimulate the vagus nerve! Here are some of our favorite ways.
Music
Plug in and let your emotions come through. As you listen to music and sing along the vagus nerve can become stimulated. The vagus nerve is connected to the vocal cords, so, be sure to sing your heart out!
Massage
Getting a massage can help to decrease your blood pressure while also increasing your vagal tone. Book yourself in for a full body massage or simply give yourself a nice foot massage at home. Either way the vagus nerve is sure to be stimulated!
Exercise
Exercise is great for a lot of reasons, but one of them happens to be its ability to increase vagus nerve activity. It can also improve your heart rate variability. Even just 15 minutes of movement a day can do wonders when it comes to stimulating the vagus nerve and experiencing its many benefits.
Cold water exposure
Cold water has been known to help wake you up and can even help you to feel relaxed after you’ve been exposed to it. It can also help to slow down your heart rate and get the blood flowing to your brain. You might splash some cold water on your face each morning or jump in an icy cold shower every once in a blue moon to experience it.
The Best Devices for Improved Wellness
Now, if you’re wondering about how to stimulate the vagus nerve, then you’re probably interested in the best vagus nerve stimulation device out there. One of our personal favorites is the Xen by Neuvana headphones which allow you to stimulate the vagus nerve while you listen to music or your favorite relaxing sounds.
You can experience all of the wonderful benefits we mentioned above and more. Take things one step at a time and be sure to try vagus nerve stimulation for yourself. Your journey to improving wellness and your overall quality of life is just getting started.
Laila Azzahra is a professional writer and blogger that loves to write about technology, business, entertainment, science, and health.