Vagus Nerve

Known as the wandering nerve, the vagus nerve is the 10th cranial nerve that runs all the way from the brain stem to part of the colon touching almost every major organ on its way.

It plays a major part of both sensory and visceral functions of the body such as breathing, circulation, digestion, speaking, emotional regulation, stress response, cognition and metabolism. It helps control and regulate blood pressure, heart rate, sweating, digestion, inflammation, detoxification and sensory input from the body to the brain.

The vagus nerve impacts in every chronic illness depending on its state and tone. Your vagus nerve is critical for overall health and well-being. It can become over and under-active therefore, affecting the function of your entire body.

The health and function of the vagus nerve is described as vagal tone.  High vagal tone means your vagus is working well.  High vagal tone is linked to good physical and mental well-being as well as resilience to stress. Low vagal tone means your vagus isn’t working well. Having low vagal tone is linked to being easily stressed out and having trouble calming down after stress.

Ways to support your vagus tone:

·       Singing and humming

·       Laughter

·       Gargling

·       Somatic tools such as basic exercise, self-hold, self-massage

·       Breathwork

·       Cold water showers/plunge

·       Massage, fascial bodywork and acupuncture

·       Hugging, co-regulation

·       Exercise

·       Prayer or meditation

·       Proper posture, chiropractor care if needed

·       Music, listening to a soothing voice

Your vagus nerve health is vital to your health and well-being as it is a main communicator throughout your body. What habits can you implement to support healthy vagal tone?

Neurosensory tools vs coping strategies

They are not the same thing.

Coping strategies are used to escape, numb and disconnect. They attempt to cover up one's dysregulation. They are unproductive and don't do anything to support states of safety and therefore better regulation.

A neurosensory or nervous system tool/exercise is used to be engaged, present. It is productive and releases stress. It discharges and resolves the dysregulation or activation caused by the perceive threat. Using such tools over time increases one's capacity for life's ups and downs. In other words, they expand the window of tolerance. They do this by signalling safety to the body and brain, and therefore lead one to spending more time in ventral vagal (aka social engagement, safe and engaged) and less time in fight-flight-freeze-shutdown.

The main difference is being present and embodied. The same activity can be either, depending on whether you are present and in your body or disengaged and disassociated. For example, running and being present in the body, feeling your muscles and breath, taking in the sun, air and enviroment is a nervous system tool to discharge sympathetic charge. Running can also be used to numb or escape emotions or stress which is unproductive and a coping strategy.

Calm after the storm

If you find youself often irritated, frustrated, angry, or annoyed then you need to discharge, release the sympathetic charge in your body BEFORE trying to soothe or calm down.

That flight/flight response needs to be completed through action, mobilization and then you can move back to a regulated state.

Ways to discharge the sympathetic include jumping, running, stomping your feet, punching/kicking, squeezing a towel or clothing, push ups, mini tantrum, pounding, yelling or growling, tensing your fist or grabbing something tightly. The key to doing this is in small doses and must stay connected/present in your body. Less is more. You don't want to overwhelm your body. Feel the power in your body and stay embodied as you release it through action/movement. Of course this needs to be done safely without harm towards anyone or anything.

THEN, once you feel the sympathetic charge is gone, do some soothing/ calming exercises such as slow swaying, self hold or butterfly hug, make "vooooo" sound, havening, orienting.