The vagus nerve connects the gut and brain, through the gut-brain axis. It communicates information from the gut to the brain using neurotransmitters (such as serotonin and glutamate) and gut hormones, all of which play a vital role in sleep, mood, pain, stress and hunger.
It can not only regulate gastrointestinal motility, but also adjust the secretion of glands, mucosal blood flow, and intestinal immunity via various pathways. The first pathway is that the vagal afferent fibers activate the HPA axis, which in turn causes the adrenal glands to release cortisol.
Diaphragmatic breathing will activate your vagus nerve and engage your parasympathetic nervous system. Additionally, it has been shown to improve gut motility (the speed at which your gut works).
Slow breathing
This could be laying down or sitting. As you're practicing breathing, try to focus on exhaling longer than you inhale. This will help to trigger relaxation and rid your body of carbon dioxide. You should also think about opening up your rib cage and expanding your belly as you breathe.
The most common symptoms of vagus nerve dysfunction include chronic pain, fatigue, dizziness, lightheadedness, spinning or pulling sensation (in a particular direction), weight loss, poor focusing, exercise intolerance, emotional lability, inflammation, heartburn, bloating, diarrhea, tinnitus, headache, anxiety, ...
Vasovagal syncope occurs when a vagus nerve to your heart overreacts to certain situations like extreme heat, anxiety, hunger, pain or stress. Blood pressure drops very quickly (orthostatic hypotension), making you feel dizzy or faint.
This can happen because of stress, pain, heat, having a bowel movement, or even standing too long. In some cases, vasovagal syncope—a typically brief episode of passing out—can also occur.
1. Breathe deep. Breathing exercises are often recommended when it comes to stress and anxiety, and here's another great reason to give it a try. When we breathe deep and slow from our abdomen, we stimulate the vagus nerve.
Vagus Nerve (VN) is the main way that connects the central nervous system and enteric nervous system. VN has a critical role for transporting pathological nerve stimulations in Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).
Drinking cold water or splashing cold water on your face may be enough to stimulate your vagus nerve. You can also take cold showers, and take a swim in an unheated pool. Check out Vim Hoff for more information on this. Yoga increases vagus nerve activity and your parasympathetic system.
When your vagus nerve is not stimulated it is said to “be low.” When low, the nerve can't effectively foster communication between the body and the brain. This not only contributes to digestive disorders, but can also affect other parts of your body including the heart, liver, kidneys and even the tongue.
Eat foods rich in tryptophan.
Dietary tryptophan is metabolized in the gut and may help the astrocytes—cells in the brain and spinal cord—control inflammation, which may improve communication from the gut to the brain via the vagal messenger pathway. These foods include spinach, seeds, nuts, bananas, and poultry.
Leaky gut syndrome can be the result of diminished or impeded vagus nerve signaling.
Your exhale should be long and slow. This is key to stimulating the vagus nerve and reaching a state of relaxation. The vagus nerve is connected to your vocal cords and the muscles at the back of your throat. Singing, humming, chanting and gargling can activate these muscles and stimulate your vagus nerve.
Vagus nerve stimulation significantly accelerated gastric emptying by promoting the relaxation of the pyloric sphincter. MRI offers high spatial and temporal resolution to non-invasively characterize gastric motility and physiology in preclinical animal models.
Taking a cold shower or splashing your face with cold water. Singing, humming, chanting, or gurgling to activate the muscles at the back of the throat and vocal cords connected to the nerve. Meditation to increase parasympathetic activity and vagus nerve activity.
It may help improve digestive issues associated with IBS, SIBO and GERD such as bloating, gas, diarrhea, constipation and acid reflux. Poor vagal nerve function can cause or exacerbate these symptoms.
Do you ever begin sweating and feeling like you are going to pass out while pooping, or do you feel like you will pass out at the sight of blood? It's possible that your vagus nerve is causing this sensation and triggering your body's vasovagal reflex, or vasovagal response.
Activities like exercise, chanting aloud, prayer or meditation, deep diaphragmatic breathing, laughter, and cold-water face splashes help stimulate the vagus nerve and calm your sympathetic (fight-or-flight) nervous system.
The vagus nerve can become damaged for various reasons, including stomach or oesophagal surgery and type-2 diabetes. Symptoms of damage include hoarseness of voice, a deficient gag reflex and difficulty swallowing. Besides these symptoms, vagal damage can manifest itself through digestive issues.
Kevin Tracey and his colleagues at the Northwell Health's Feinstein Institutes were the first to find that the vagus nerve can also regulate inflammation. This nerve seems to be a key conduit of the inflammatory reflex system that recruits immune cells to fight infection.
The findings indicate that electrical signals in the vagus nerve activate a cholinergic signal promoting Alox15-dependent lipid mediator biosynthesis and accelerating resolution of inflammation, providing additional insights into neural regulation of inflammation.