![]() ![]() These areas when stimulated, cause relaxation and increases vagal tone! Tickling the face and a neck/scalp massage - This affects the nerves that come off the same area of the brain that the vagus nerve innervates. You can also tap a toothpick over this area, and this can stimulate your vagus nerve.Ħ. Acupuncture - The vagus nerve innervates your tragus, auricle, and skin over the inner canal of your ear. You can do this daily after brushing your teeth.ĥ. Use a tongue depressor or the end of your toothbrush to stimulate the back of your throat and elicit a gag reflex. If you do not have a gag reflex this is a sign of low vagal tone. Gag reflex - The vagus nerve is responsible for your gag reflex. Take a gulp of water in your mouth, tilt your head back and gargle for 30 seconds.Ĥ. In the morning and evening, gargle with water. Throughout the day, hum along to your favorite songs. Humming and gargling - Singing, humming, and gargling are all great ways to stimulate a part of the vagus nerve because it is connected to your vocal cords and the muscles in the back of your throat. When you do this, your stomach should expand forwards while your rib cage expands outwards.ģ. You want to breathe in using your diagram. Hold your breath for five seconds, then exhale slowly for seven seconds through pursed lips like you are whistling. When you feel your lungs are full, inhale a tiny bit more. Deep breathing - Slowly inhale as much as you can through your nose. If this is too much, start by splashing cold water over your face.Ģ. Take deep diaphragmic breaths as you let the water wash over you. Let the cold water from your shower run over a sensitive area of your body, like the back of your neck. Cold exposure - Try finishing your morning shower with at least 30 seconds of cold water. Methods to activate and tone the vagus nerve:ġ. The more your increase your vagal tone, the more your physical and mental health will improve. Increasing your vagal tone activates the parasympathetic nervous system, and having a higher vagal tone means that your body can relax faster after stress. Vagal tone is an internal biological process that represents the activity of the vagus nerve. What you really need to pay special attention to is the “tone” of your vagus nerve. Because it influences your breathing, digestive function, and heart rate, it can have a huge impact on your mental health too. Low vagal tone is associated with many symptoms and issues, like IBS, rheumatoid arthritis, anxiety, panic attacks, and poor heart rate variability. The vagus nerve acts like an information highway straight down to your brain, and when the vagus nerve is not firing well, it is called “low vagal tone”. How does vagal health affect your overall wellness? In some instances, stress causes existing conditions to worsen, and in other cases, stress and an unregulated nervous system can be a major factor in creating vulnerability to developing new conditions in the first place. Chronic stimulation of your immune system because of stress, causes that system to become suppressed overall, and thus becomes less effective at warding off diseases and infections. Stress and an unregulated nervous system lower your immune system, which is responsible to defend your body against disease and infection. ![]() Over time, what effects does stress and an unregulated nervous system have on our body? Canestraro walks us through everything from what the vagus nerve is to what it does and how boosting your vagal tone can effectively manage stress. Canestraro now utilizes her expertise to treat her clients. Canestraro created her clinic to focus on gut and vagal health( the two foundations that helped her retain her own wellness.) With a background in functional medicine, chiropractic, and acupuncture, Dr. After tapping into the significance of the vagus nerve, Dr. A frustrating medical history spurred her to innovate in the field and help others, which in turn, led her into functional medicine. Stephanie Canestraro of the Vagus Clinic, to dive into the ins and out of the largest component of the parasympathetic nervous system and to understand how it affects our health. We chatted with vagus nervous system expert, Dr. But why is it important and what does that have to do with stress? Vagus means “wandering” in Latin, and like his name suggests the nerve meanders around your chest and abdomen, connecting to most of your core organs. If you’re looking for ways to level up, not only your stress management, but your stress resistance, the vagus nerve is here to help. Even if you do the breathing exercises, meditative tea-sipping, and morning journaling and flow through your day like an organized goddess, stress can tiptoe its way in. In our chronically fast-paced society, it’s almost impossible not to carry around some level of stress. ![]()
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