Does Your Nervous System Need a "Reset"?
Keep calm and carry on by understanding the power of your vagus nerve.
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What’s your first impulse in moments of stress? Do you take a mental break and zone out by scrolling social media or binging Netflix? Maybe you sprinkle extra doses of “wellness” into your routine with a green juice instead of coffee or an extra yoga class. We live in a culture that encourages outsourcing self care to everything and everyone except ourselves, so you may not know about your body’s innate ability to help you relax.
You may find that your mind is filled anxious thoughts when you feel like a “nervous wreck” or a “ball of nerves”. What we may not realize is that the nervous system—specifically parasympathetic—controls your body’s natural ability to unwind and relax.
Learning about your nerve network, particularly the vagus nerve (or vagal nerves) can help you to calm down in a short amount of time and without spending a dime. Intrigued? Let me explain.
What is the Vagus Nerve?
First, a quick anatomy lesson: your body’s nervous system is made up of your brain, spinal cord, and nerves. These are categorized into two main parts called the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS). Within the PNS is a network of nerves that branch out from your spinal cord and regulate involuntary processes called the autonomic nervous system. Your sympathetic nervous system, aka the “fight-or-flight” response, and the parasympathetic nervous system, the “rest-and-digest” function, are part of this network.
The vagus nerve is the primary influencer of the parasympathetic nervous system, which maintains heart and breathing rates, as well as digestion and metabolism. It’s the reason why your heart races when you’re nervous and why you feel more relaxed around your loved ones or a pet.
Known as the wandering nerve, the vagus is the longest parasympathetic nerve in the body and the longest cranial nerve. (Fun fact: the name “vagus” comes from the Latin term for “wandering”.) As the 10th cranial nerve, it originates in the brain stem and branches out from ears and throat to heart, lungs, and connects to your abdomen and large intestine.
Not only a big influencer, vagal nerves have incredible reach! When you consider how many bodily systems it touches, it’s no wonder that more and more people are interested in optimizing the vagal nerve to improve their health.
Your Gut Instinct
Have you heard of the gut-brain axis? Maybe not, but there are plenty of vagal fibers in your gut. It even has its own division of the nervous system called the enteric nervous system. When you have a “gut feeling”, your vagus nerve is communicating with your brain along what is known as the gut-brain axis. The enteric nervous system is responsible for the butterflies you might feel before public speaking or the sinking feeling in your stomach when you’ve been caught doing something that you know was wrong. TMI warning: It’s also responsible for “nervous poops” if you’ve ever experienced those!
The Mind-Body Connection
The parasympathetic nervous system uses the vagus nerve as a mind-body pathway to communicate between the brain and the body and vice versa. As a masterful down regulator for the nervous system, it can shift your body from a fight-or-flight mode to a rest-and-digest mode, restoring you to a calmer state of mind. Down regulation is important because it’s the key to resilience for our internal mind and external environment.
A well-functioning parasympathetic system improves everything from your heart rate to your gut and mental health too. For example, when your nervous system is functioning properly, the sympathetic nervous system raises your heart rate during exercise such as a brisk walk uphill. The elevated heart rate helps ensure that your muscles receive more oxygen. Once you reach the top, the parasympathetic nervous system lowers the heart rate so you can catch your breath, helping you reach a homeostasis so that your body doesn’t need to work harder or longer than necessary.
The problem for some people is when their sympathetic nervous system becomes chronically activated. If the vagus nerve is dysfunctional, we are more likely to be in a state of fight-or-flight and the sympathetic nervous system becomes dominant. That means the “brake” of the parasympathetic nervous system isn’t working as well as you should. This can lead to feelings of persistent stress and anxiety and even long term health issues. You are more likely to get stuck in a stress loop, and your body never gets a chance to relax and rest.
The Perimenopause Overlap
The myriad health issues that arise when the vagus nerve isn’t working well – depression, anxiety, cardiovascular disorders, digestive disorders, chronic inflammation, joint and muscle pain, headaches, temperature dysregulation, fatigue and insomnia – may sound all too familiar for anyone in the throes of perimenopause. No doubt there is overlap here. That’s why understanding how to regulate your vagus nerve and parasympathetic nervous system is so important in your 40s and beyond.
An “Aha” Moment
Steven W Porges, PhD. pioneered the polyvagal theory which defines the body’s need for safety as being part of our neurophysiology. Because of this prime objective, we behave in ways that drive us to connect with others in an effort to seek security. He also coined the term “neuroception” which is our ability to discern whether a situation is safe or dangerous. Neuroception is the body’s intrinsic surveillance system. If your body perceives danger or stress (real or perceived) it’s more likely to activate the fight or flight response.
How many of us are mobilized for flight-or-fight at any time and have no idea? How many of us are unaware that we walking around with an activated sympathetic nervous system? Before I came across the work of Dr. Porges and understood the importance of vagal toning, I had no idea that I was in a chronic state of fight-or-flight. While I found moments of solace on my yoga mat, I was stressed and anxious practically everywhere else. Eventually I ended up with stress-induced ulcers.
Fortunately, my ulcers healed with the help of a gastroenterologist and by addressing my nervous system. And these days, I find it’s easier to manage the ups and downs of the day by taking time to check in with myself, monitor how my body is feeling, and how I am breathing. That doesn’t mean I don’t get stressed out anymore. In fact, I would argue that launching a beauty brand is the most stressful thing I have ever done! But now, when my stress levels are high, I understand how to bring them back down and shift my body and my mind from a state of fight-or-flight to a state of rest-and-digest.
Vagus Nerve Workouts
When people talk about caring for the vagus nerve, they often use the term “vagal toning”. A well-toned vagal nerve is one that is functioning properly. Conversely, poor vagal tone is the same thing as a dysfunctional vagus nerve. Along with stress and anxiety, the vagus nerve is negatively affected by lack of movement, overwork, smoking, drinking excessive alcohol, lack of proper nutrition and poor sleep habits. Trauma can also lead to poor vagal tone.
Simple lifestyle habits like gentle movement, breathwork, massage and social interactions (that don’t stress you out) can target your vagus nerve and keep your parasympathetic system healthy and responsive. Here are some ways to help:
Breathing. (This video by Jill Miller is a great demonstration on simple breathing techniques for relaxing.)
Meditation. There are many online videos and apps that can teach you simple steps to meditate at home or while walking. I recommend Headspace or Calm for beginners.
Exercise. Walk, jog, dance—pick your favorite way to move.
Listening to music or singing aloud. Vampire Weekend is one of my favorite band to sing and dance to.
Eat a balanced diet rich with omega 3 fatty acids. (A high-fat, high-carb diet has been shown to impair vagal function.)
Cold water immersion or splashing cold water on face
Laughing. Comedy is the best medicine. If you have HBO, I highly recommend watching Hacks. The writing is so clever and the dynamic between Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder is hysterical.
Hugging. (Pets count here, not just other humans.)
Massage. Permission to treat yourself to a spa day!
Experience awe. Cultivate curiosity whenever you can.
Want to Learn More?
Here are two books I recommend for a deeper understanding of the importance of breath and the vagus nerve.
Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor
Body by Breath: The Scientific and Practice of Physical and Emotional Resilience by Jill Miller
Understanding how your nervous system operates can help you to support your body during anxious times. A well-toned vagus nerve leads to SO many benefits, from increased stress resilience, stronger relationships, improved immunity, to happiness and the ability to better handle challenging situations. Think of vagal toning techniques as self-soothing tools within your kit to combat the depression and anxiety that can naturally increase during perimenopause. While helpful for all of us in midlife, I encourage you to share these wellness strategies with your kids to help them in stressful times too.
Movement Snack: I have found spinal rotations and breathwork to be helpful in managing anxiety. What works for you?
Cheers to looking and feeling your best,
Susan
Susan Campbell
Founder and CEO, Phosis
Great reminder about the importance of the Vagas nerve in stress management. Great article. Love the yoga pose routine for this. I've just started to get back into yoga and I love vinyasa flow with my breath. I recently treated myself to a massage and highly recommend Esalen massage. Esalen massage is great for the parasympathetic system. It felt so healing. Just wish I could afford one once a month!