A ‘vagus nerve reset’ is the key to lowering stress levels – here’s exactly how to do it
Just a year ago, the advice to curb incrementing stress was homogenous: get daylight first thing, maximise your sleep routine and avoid the damaging blue light on your phone. More recently, it’s the vagus nerve that’s been thrust into the spotlight as the missing link for aiding cortisol; be that via cold exposure (splashing your face with ice-cold water) or humming to help tone and stimulate the vagus nerve.
This isn’t the latest ‘cortisol detoxing’ trend you’ve seen on TikTok, though. “The vagus nerve is not a trend, a trick or a shortcut to calm. It’s your sixth sense, the one that tells your brain whether it’s safe enough to stand down from high alert. If you train that sense everything changes: how you handle stress, how quickly you recover, how resilient you actually are, not in theory, but in your biology too,” shares Jane Ollis, medical biochemist and founder of SONA.
Part of the body’s inherent ‘off-switch’ to stress, there is now far more research and science stacking up in its favour. Not only are FDA-backed vagus nerve stimulators suddenly infiltrating the wellness space, but research is connecting the dots between its role with inflammation, HRV and the gut-brain axis. “The vagus nerve sits right at that intersection as hard wired neurophysiology,” she adds.
“Scientific research has finally caught up with old world wisdom in realising that we need to build resilience to stress, and that these signals to lower the effects of stress (and push the proverbial brakes) are passed through a well-functioning vagus nerve,” adds Dr Navaz Habib, a doctor, expert and best-selling author of Activate Your Vagus Nerve.
What is the vagus nerve?
“The vagus nerve is the long nerve runs from the brainstem into the heart, lungs, gut and immune system, quietly collecting intelligence on how things are going,’ says Ollis. “Crucially, it is mostly an inbound line, and around 80% of its signals travel upward from body to brain. Heart rhythm, breath depth, digestion and inflammation all become evidence the brain uses to decide whether to keep the system braced or allow it to stand down. When people talk about listening to your body, this is the channel doing the talking.”
What role does it play in relation to the nervous system?
Habib explains that, when it comes to cortisol, the vagus nerve acts as your body’s chief operating officer. During moments of stress, the vagus nerve helps put the brakes on the sympathetic ‘fight-or-flight’ mode, helping to slow down your heart rate and signalling to your body to shift into ‘rest-and-digest’ mode. “Think of it as the superhighway delivering sensory intel from your gut, heart, and lungs back to the brain, then sending calming commands to the immune cells in each organ, to prevent chronic stress overload,” he shares.
“A well-functioning vagus nerve regulates excess cortisol and stress hormone release, reduces pro-inflammatory cytokine signals, and restores prefrontal-amygdala balance for emotional calm,” he adds. A regulated vagus nerve will also calm the body’s immune system by releasing a chemical called acetylcholine. “This chemical tells the body to turn down the inflammation signals, which can cause low mood, anxiety, brain fog and fatigue,” adds Ollis.
The vagus nerve is how the body tells the brain that you’re not in danger. “When vagal signalling is strong, heart rate slows, breathing deepens, digestion restarts and repair systems come back online. A healthy nervous system is not calm all the time, but responsive. It knows when to mobilise and when to release,” she adds.
On the flip side, low vagal tone will leave you in a vulnerable, stressed and hypervigilant state, without the brakes to slow you down, and will manifest as increased cortisol, a higher heart rate and anxiety symptoms.
Why is it so important for our mental wellbeing?
Both experts agree that the vagus nerve is so fundamental because the brain responds to evidence and data. “You can tell yourself you are fine, but if your breath is shallow, your heart erratic and your gut unsettled, the vagus nerve reports otherwise and the brain listens. When signals of safety such as steady breathing, rhythmic heartbeats and a settled gut arrive consistently, the brain downshifts. Emotional regulation improves, recovery then speeds up and resilience stops being a personality trait and becomes a physiological state,” shares Ollis.
How to reset the vagus nerve
‘Vagus nerve resets’ have been monopolising the wellness space of late; but it’s less about ‘calming’ remedies and more about ‘recovery’ tools, from slow, elongated breathing to targeted vagus nerve stimulators. “The vagus nerve fires most strongly on the out breath. Lengthening it through sighing or slow breathing lowers stress in real time,” shares Ollis.
There are also a number of new electrical VN stimulation devices for the ear and neck which have been gaining momentum on social media, from Nurosym to Sona, both using low-level electrical stimulation to activate the ‘rest and digest’ parasympathetic response. “These devices help shift your body from sympathetic survival to parasympathetic repair, enhancing digestion, immunity, sleep, and emotional regulation,” says Habib.
They come with expert backing too. “Vagus nerve stimulators (VNS) demonstrably work, but they are not a magic bullet. They are a great adjunct tool in the quest against stress. Some devices have FDA clearances for various diagnoses, and have been well researched. Similar devices providing non-invasive VNS show promise in trials for improved sleep, mood, and inflammation, by mimicking the effects of deep breathing, humming and even meditation, in minutes by boosting vagal tone,” he adds, noting that results will differ depending on the user.
If vagus nerve stimulators are not an option for you, there are quick shortcuts that can activate the vagus nerve that are readily accessible to all. Cold exposure, for example, in the form of a face plunge or cold shower, can instantly trigger the vagus nerve. “This triggers the mammalian dive reflex, boosting parasympathetic activity and vagal tone. Not everyone should cold plunge, but if you do, make sure to pair it with the breathing exercises,” Habib warns.
Humming and gargling also prove a salve as this vibrates throat nerves (larynx/pharynx path). “The nerve runs through the throat and ear canal, so the vibration from the humming provides direct stimulation and your nervous system responds to resonance,” adds Ollis. Connection is also a key and often forgotten factor. “Laughter, eye contact and feeling understood activate the ventral vagal pathway,” she adds.
Whether you hum mid-commute or opt for one of the buzzier stimulator tools, there are myriad benefits to be had from drawing your attention to the vagus nerve and its immense power for the mind and body.
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