Changing Your Emotional State
Sing an upbeat and energetic song that acts as an emotional catharsis. Singing is a great way to release pent-up emotions and help you feel more relaxed, positively affecting your entire parasympathetic nervous system. Singing loudly also exercises your vocal cords and throat muscles, which in turn stimulate the vagus nerve. Singing also leads your body to release oxytocin, which produces feelings of joy and well-being. If you’re unable to sing loudly, humming softly and even gargling water can also work your throat muscles and thus stimulate your vagus nerve.
Engage in meditation that includes thoughts of love and compassion. According to one study, generating positive emotions in yourself through loving-kindness meditation and enhancing your sense of social connection can lead to heightened activity in the vagus nerve. Note that your meditation needs to include compassionate thoughts of others in order to reap this benefit. In other words, the act of meditation alone will not necessarily stimulate your vagus nerve; having thoughts of love and compassion for others is what’s most important. To practice loving-kindness meditation, start by sitting in a comfortable pose and focusing on your breathing to clear your mind. Then, begin to mentally repeat 1 or more mantras that reflect compassion for yourself and for others, such as “May I be happy” and “May my coworkers be healthy and strong.”
Do something that makes you laugh out loud. Laughing is arguably the easiest and most enjoyable way to stimulate your vagus nerve. Watch a TV show, movie, or stand-up comic to receive a variety of health benefits just from laughing. Some of the other health benefits accrued by laughing include increasing circulation to different parts of the body, lowering your blood pressure, and releasing chemicals in your body that are beneficial to the cardiovascular system. Try watching a funny show or movie with other people; people tend to laugh more easily when enjoying something funny with others!
Spend time socializing with people you have positive relationships with. Socializing, especially when combined with laughing, can have a tremendous positive effect on your vagus nerve. Try to spend ample time with people whom you enjoy being around and who you feel positive emotions for. Hanging out with friends and family can actually help you generate greater vagal tone (activity of your vagus nerve). Laughing with friends will also strengthen your relationship and promote bonding between you, thereby leading to greater stimulation of the vagus nerve when you spend time together.
Modify the tone of your voice when you talk with people. Speaking in a calm, even tone may help you to soothe yourself. When you hear a soothing voice, such as the voice of a loved one or trusted friend, your body releases oxytocin. On the other hand, not hearing soothing voices enough may result in a higher amount of cortisol, which is a stress hormone. Try speaking to yourself in a soothing voice, as if you were trying to comfort a pet or a child. Another option is to call up a friend or family member who has a soothing voice and talk with them for a while.
Stimulating Your Vagus Nerve with Physical Activity
Perform slow, deep breathing exercises. Slowing down your breathing by exhaling for longer than you inhale and taking deep breaths has been shown to not only stimulate your vagus nerve, but also reduce anxiety and promote calmness. Aim to take 6 10-second breaths per minute for 5 minutes to increase vagal activity. Deeply breathe in with your diaphragm so that your stomach expands outward. Try breathing in for 5 seconds and then slowly exhaling for 5 seconds. If you’re having trouble performing deep breathing exercises, try looking up helpful videos online or downloading an app that will guide you in your breathing.
Do yoga for 90 minutes every week. Studies have shown that regularly performing yoga increases the activity of your parasympathetic nervous system, which includes greater stimulation of your vagus nerve. For best results, perform at least 90 minutes of yoga each week consistently. If you’re a beginner, start out with some relatively easy yoga poses, such as the cat pose, cow pose, bridge pose, and the aptly named easy pose. Similar slow exercises, such as tai chi and qi gong, have also been shown to have a stimulating effect on the vagus nerve. Don’t try to do yoga that is overly difficult for you to do. Remember, yoga should be relaxing as well as physically engaging.
Engage in moderate to intense exercise 4 times a week. Exercise that significantly increases your heart rate, such as jogging, walking, or weightlifting, has a number of positive effects on your mental health, including vagus nerve stimulation. Aim to perform this exercise at least every other day to receive consistent positive results. Try to engage in exercises that you enjoy doing; this will help ensure that you’re able to do them consistently. Regular exercise also increases brain growth and can help reverse cognitive decline.
Get a massage or acupuncture treatment. Research has shown that receiving a massage or acupuncture treatment can lead to increased vagal activity and vagal tone. Aim to schedule a massage or treatment once every 2-3 months for consistent stimulation of the vagus nerve. Massages are most effective at stimulating the vagus nerve when they’re done on the feet and on the carotid sinus. For best results from acupuncture treatment, try having it performed on your ear.
Perform progressive muscle relaxation. Progressive muscle relaxation is an effective way to reduce anxiety. Starting with your toes, squeeze the muscles in both feet to tense them, hold for 10 seconds, then release. Do this for each muscle group in your body until you reach the top of your head. Then, relax for as long as you like. Find a quiet, comfortable spot to perform a progressive muscle relaxation. Remember to breathe as you perform this exercise.
Expose your body to cold water, weather, or beverages. Although your sympathetic nervous system will be initially heightened after being exposed to the cold, once your body becomes acclimated your parasympathetic nervous system will generate a response, including by stimulating the vagus nerve. Try splashing cold water on your face or ending your showers with 1 minute of cold water to increase vagal activity. Over time, you may find it helpful to take showers only using cold water. Simply spending some time underdressed in cold weather (e.g., wearing a t-shirt during a snowfall) can also stimulate your vagus nerve.
Undergo surgery to implant a device that stimulates your vagus nerve electrically. For those suffering from epilepsy or from depression that doesn’t respond to therapy or medication, there are devices (called programmable pulse generator devices) that doctors can implant under the skin that stimulate the vagus nerve with electrical impulses that may be particularly useful. Talk to your doctor to determine whether this type of device is right for you. This form of vagus nerve stimulation is generally considered safe for most people. Some side effects may include voice changes, throat pain, cough, headache, chest pain, or tingling on the skin. As of September 2018, noninvasive devices that stimulate the vagus nerve and that don’t require surgery are available in Europe, but have not yet been made available in the United States.
Changing Your Diet
Add probiotics to your diet to create healthy gut bacteria. Research has increasingly shown that there is a linkage between the bacteria in your gut and the activity of the vagus nerve. Specifically, eating more Lactobacillus rhamnosus can reduce depression- and anxiety-related behaviors, most likely by stimulating the vagus nerve. The research conducted on Lactobacillus rhamnosus was carried out in mice and researchers are thus not 100% sure that consuming this probiotic will always have similar effects on humans. Bifidobacterium longum is another probiotic that has been shown to increase vagal activity in mice and that may be able to stimulate the vagus nerve in humans.
Eat more omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids play an important role in ensuring good mental health, as they’re necessary for the normal functioning of your brain and nervous system. These fatty acids have also been shown in experiments to lower your heart rate and stimulate the vagus nerve. However, your body cannot produce omega-3 fatty acids itself, so you need to add them to your regular diet in order to receive their health benefits. In addition to vagus nerve stimulation, omega-3 fatty acids have also been shown to reduce inflammation, reverse cognitive decline, and even help people overcome addictions. Omega-3 fatty acids are typically found in fish, so a good way to eat more of them is to increase the amount of fish in your diet or start taking fish oil supplements.
Eliminate sugar, caffeine, and alcohol. Cutting these from your diet will allow you to function at your best. Avoid foods that have added sugars, switch to decaf coffee and tea, and drink only non-alcoholic beverages. This may help you to feel calmer in general.
Try intermittent fasting if you're physically healthy. Research on fasting conducted with rats has indicated that dietary restriction can result in increased parasympathetic activity, which is possibly caused by vagus nerve stimulation. If you’re in good health, consider fasting every now and then to possibly stimulate your vagus nerve and enjoy other health benefits. Other benefits of intermittent fasting may include increased longevity, lower blood pressure, prevention of age-related diseases, and lower body weight. Note that fasting is not recommended for the very young, the elderly, or those who are seriously ill.
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