Activating The Vagus Nerve: 7 At-Home Strategies For Stress, Anxiety, Depression, & Digestion 1

CONTENTS
The Vagus Nerve: The Key to your Gut-Brain Axis.............................................3
What Is The Vagus Nerve?...................................................................................3
Is Your Vagus Nerve Damaged?..........................................................................6
Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS)..........................................................................8
What Can I Do?......................................................................................................8
Conclusion............................................................................................................ 12
References............................................................................................................ 14

Activating The Vagus Nerve: 7 At-Home Strategies For Stress, Anxiety, Depression, & Digestion 2
 THE VAGUS NERVE:
The Key to your Gut-Brain Axis
If you have been experiencing periods of inexplicable anxiety, low mood, or even
decision fatigue, the cause might be quite a surprising one, buried deep in the core
of your body.

In recent years, scientists have between the gut and the

been researching the effects brain, where the health/state
of the connection between our of one affects the health
gut and our brain, known as and function of the other.
the Gut-Brain Axis. This is a A major player in this
two-way communication communication network
pathway is the vagus nerve.

What Is The Vagus Nerve?

The vagus nerve is the main nerve of our parasympathetic nervous system. Picture it
as our inner nerve center.

The word vagus is Latin for “wandering,” and that’s exactly what this nerve does. It is
the longest nerve of the autonomic nervous system in the human body, running from
our brain stem to our colon, and it is of crucial importance in modulating both our
sensory and motor systems.

Activating The Vagus Nerve: 7 At-Home Strategies For Stress, Anxiety, Depression, & Digestion 3
That is because it consists of sensory
and motor pathways. The former
consist of the somatic, the sensations
we experience in our muscles and skin,
and the visceral, the sensations arising
from the organs within our body.
The motor pathways stimulate a
multitude of muscles, such as our
heart, our mouth, and throat, and the
involuntary movements which aid food
moving in the digestive tract.
If you picture the information moving
in the body as a network, about 80% of
it moves up from the body to the brain,
and only about 20% of the traffic moves
from the brain to the body. That is a lot
of traffic, and the vagus nerve handles
the majority of it!

Important functions:

✓ Carrying Crucial Information

The vagus nerve communicates information to the brain from vital organs, such as
the liver, heart, and lungs. The messages are critical to the everyday functions of the
body, such as increasing and decreasing heart rate, stimulating the production of bile
and digestive enzymes, and triggering the release of hormones that regulate moods,
like oxytocin and serotonin.1

Activating The Vagus Nerve: 7 At-Home Strategies For Stress, Anxiety, Depression, & Digestion 4
 These hormones are of primary importance in mood regulation and feelings of well-
being. We are therefore increasingly aware that the vagus nerve and the gut can play
a significant role in mood disorders. 2

The vagus nerve is also involved in the process of retaining memories. In a study
published in the Journal of Translational Medicine, scientists found rats’ ability to retain
spatial and fear-based memories (created to protect them from previous negative
outcomes) was strengthened with the electrical stimulation of their vagus nerve. 3

✓ Digestion
There is a myriad of muscle movements that facilitate the functions within our
body, and the messages triggering them originate from our brain and travel down
the vagus nerve.

Peristalsis is the movement within our digestive tract that pushes consumed food
to our colon. Any inhibition of peristalsis can result in slower transit time and con-
stipation.

The vagal efferents (messages from our brain to our gut that travel along the vagus
nerve), together with hormones such as peptide cholecystokinin, ghrelin, and leptin
determine the rate of absorption, storage, and utilization of nutrients. It is therefore
a crucial regulator of appetite and also how much of the healthy food we eat actually
benefits us.4

✓ Immune System
The vagus nerve modulates the immune response and sends anti-inflammatory
signals to other parts of the body through three pathways:

1. Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis (HPA Axis): The interaction between

the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal glands is referred to as the
hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis or HPA axis. It determines the body’s
response to stress and is the reason we produce the stress hormone, cortisol.
Regulating it can lower the post-stress amounts of cortisol. 5

Activating The Vagus Nerve: 7 At-Home Strategies For Stress, Anxiety, Depression, & Digestion 5
 2. Vago-Splenic Pathway: In this case, the vagus nerve stimulates the splenic
sympathetic nerve which in turn stimulates the release of noradrenaline and
acetylcholine.

3. Cholinergic Anti-Inflammatory Pathway: This one is mediated through the

vagal afferent fibers which carry messages to the brain and prompt the release
of acetylcholine to inhibit inflammatory molecules.6

Is Your Vagus Nerve Damaged?

There are three main causes of vagus nerve dysfunction: infection, inflammation, and
stress, which could be physical or psychological.

These can lead to inflammation or pinching of your vagus nerve. As there is a wide-
ranging array of symptoms that can hint at that damage, it is important to keep them
in mind for accurate testing and diagnosis.

Activating The Vagus Nerve: 7 At-Home Strategies For Stress, Anxiety, Depression, & Digestion 6
 Gag Reflex
One of the most common tests to check
for damage in your vagus nerve is testing
a person’s gag reflex. If it doesn’t work, it
could be an indicator of some malfunction
in the vagus nerve.
Speech and Voice
If you experience difficulty talking, or
a hoarse voice that extends beyond a
temporary infection, the vagus nerve could
be the culprit, as you could be experiencing
a local lesion. That could also express as
loss or change of your voice.
Dysphagia
A common symptom of inflammation in the
laryngeal portion of your vagus nerve is
dysphagia, which is the feeling of difficulty
when swa llow ing and eating. Chronic
feelings of that (not just a sore throat),
should definitely be addressed by your
doctor.
Auricular Pain
Pain in the ear, especially one that travels
down the side of the neck can be an indi-
cator that there is something wrong with
your vagus nerve. If you are experiencing
persistent earache, it would be good to seek
medical advice.
Activating The Vagus Nerve: 7 At-Home Strategies For Stress, Anxiety, Depression, & Digestion
Blood Pressure
The vagus nerve stimulates muscles in the
heart that help to slow heart rate. Damage
can result in an overactive vagus nerve that
causes sudden dips in blood pressure. This
process is called vasovagal syncope (VS) and
can lead to a low heart rate and fainting,
and, in extreme cases, even organ damage.
Digestive Issues
As the vagus nerve communicates directly
with the digestive system, you can experi-
ence several digestive problems when it is
inflamed. Hypochlorhydria (low acid pro-
duction) in the stomach means you can’t
digest your food and absorb its nutrients
appropriately. This can also be accompanied
by dry heaving.
Further digestive issues can include abdom-
inal distention (bloating) and pain in the
gut, or even nausea and vomiting.
Mental Health
This may not be immediately obvious, but as
the vagus nerve is designed to counteract
our body’s stress response, low vagal tone
can lead to not only a heightened stress
response but can also result in the said
response becoming chronic, extending far
beyond the appropriate period for which it
is necessary.
Long-term inflammation can result in de-
pression and anxiety.
7
 Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS)
Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is a type
of neuromodulation aimed at altering the
activity of nerves. Currently licensed for
the treatment of epilepsy and depression,
it works by implanting a device that
sends mild pulses of electricity in regular
intervals through the vagus nerves to the
brainstem. The electrical impulses then
dissipate in various areas of the brain
and alter the way brain cells work.
This treatment looks promising for other
disorders, such as f ibromyalg ia and
migraines. It is expected that, as a field
of treatment, it has great potential.7
However, there are natural ways of stim-
ulating your vagus nerve and achieving
the consequent results. Try some (or all!)
of the following methods, and reap the
benefits!

What Can I Do?

1. COLD STIMULATION
An ice-cold shower or bath might not sound immediately inviting, but Scandinavians
and Russians have been purposefully wild swimming in sub-zero winters for a long
time because the physical and psychological benefits have been well documented.

Cold stimulation triggers peripheral vasoconstric-

tion, making your body work harder to keep
warmer by shifting the blood volume toward the
core. This resulting increase in central pressure
activates the baroreflex which is responsible
for reducing sympathetic nervous activity while
shifting autonomic heart rate control toward
parasympathetic dominance. You don’t need to
find an ice-cold lake though, even exposing your
face to cold water can trigger that response.8

So, take the plunge!

Activating The Vagus Nerve: 7 At-Home Strategies For Stress, Anxiety, Depression, & Digestion 8
 2. YOGA and EXERCISE
Yoga and gentle exercise have been shown to increase vagus nerve activation through
the parasympathetic nervous system. A particular breathing-based meditative
technique called the Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) stimulates the vagus nerve and
exerts several autonomic effects including changes in heart rate, improved cognition,
and improved bowel function.9

Another controlled study showed that even

patients suffering from drug-resistant
depression had a surprising reduction in
symptoms after following a course of SKY for
just eight weeks!10

Clinical studies have also demonstrated the

effectiveness of yoga as a treatment for PTSD
as it increases parasympathetic activity and
decreases amygdala overactivity. Yoga is easily
accessible, as there are plenty of at-home
tutorials and local classes, so take the chance
and join!

3. DEEP BREATHING and MEDITATION

If stress activates the fight or flight response,
deep breathing is the reverse of that process.
Stress causes shallow and fast breathing. A
series of deep breaths informs your body you are
not in danger and stimulates the vagus nerve.
This, in turn, activates the parasympathetic
nervous system and tells your brain it is time
to rest and digest. The best way to do that is
to actively visualize your diaphragm and the
muscles between your ribs expanding with your
breath and contracting when exhaling.

Activating The Vagus Nerve: 7 At-Home Strategies For Stress, Anxiety, Depression, & Digestion 9
Studies have demonstrated that individuals suffering from depression, anxiety,
and chronic pain experience a remarkable improvement in symptom severity after
participating in regular mindfulness meditation training.11

4. SOCIAL CONNECTION
Increasingly, we are aware that the need to
connect with others is beyond a desire and
more of a human need. The warm feeling
that we get from interacting with friends,
loved ones, and our community can foster
positive emotions, which, in turn, can
improve the function of the vagus nerve.
A notable longitudinal study compared
a group that actively fostered loving,
caring emotion through group meditation
against a control group. The former group
reported more positive emotions, an effect
moderated by baseline vagal tone.12

5. SING a TUNE
Singing, humming, and chanting are
quintessential group activities. Humans
have practiced them since the earliest
recordings and they are deeply woven
into tradition and culture. They also
activate the vagus nerve by actuating
the muscles in the throat, neck, and
lungs. The vagus nerve passes through
the vocal cords and the inner ear, and
the vibrations that singing produces
are a simple way to activate the vagus
nerve.

Activating The Vagus Nerve: 7 At-Home Strategies For Stress, Anxiety, Depression, & Digestion 10
 6. PROBIOTICS
The vagus and the enteric (digestive tract)
nerves are intricately connected and there
is increasing evidence that an imbalanced
microbiome can affect vagal tone.

Recent research has demonstrated

alterations of both the gut microbiota as well
as vagal tone in patients with depression,
anxiety, and schizophrenia.13

Some probiotics, such as Bifidobacterium, signal to the brain via vagal pathways. Clinical
studies where animals were supplemented with L. Rhamnosus showed alterations in
GABA receptors that were mediated by the vagus nerve.14,15

7. GET your CHOLINE IN!

In order for the vagus nerve to successfully transmit messages, it relies on its main
neurotransmitter, acetylcholine (ACh). ACh can also reduce inflammatory cytokines
(which we know are linked to long COVID and general inflammation) and improve
memory and focus.

Choline is an amino acid that is a precursor

to ACh and is necessary to generate it. Not
only have ​​animal studies shown that choline
ameliorates cardiovascular damage by
improving vagal activity, but it is also involved
in muscle control, memory, and mediation
of emotion and behavior in the brain. This is
all to say, it is an essential part of a healthy
nervous system.

Choline can be found in small quantities in many plants, so eating a plentiful and
varied plant-based diet will ensure that you ingest adequate amounts!

Activating The Vagus Nerve: 7 At-Home Strategies For Stress, Anxiety, Depression, & Digestion 11
 Here are some delicious ingredients that you
can include in your diet:

• Shiitake mushrooms

• Soybeans

• Wheat Germ

• Cauliflower

• Broccoli

• Brussels sprouts

• Almonds

CONCLUSION
Your vagus nerve is essential to communicating the messages between
important parts of your body and your brain. Maintaining its health helps
keeps us healthy. Conversely, a wide and seemingly unconnected range of
symptoms can arise from any dysfunction in the vagus nerve. There are a lot
of small and effective actions we can take to stimulate it, and great short and
long-term benefits to be reaped from their implementation!

Activating The Vagus Nerve: 7 At-Home Strategies For Stress, Anxiety, Depression, & Digestion 12
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Activating The Vagus Nerve: 7 At-Home Strategies For Stress, Anxiety, Depression, & Digestion 15