Any kind of GI distress can put pressure on the Vagus nerve and irritate it resulting in further problems. An excess of alcohol, spicy foods, and caffeine can inflame the nerve. As we now know, our gut is considered to be our “second brain”, also known as our enteric nervous system.
There are two main causes of vagus nerve dysfunction: previous infection or inflammation and physical or psychological stress.
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.
You know that not only will a pinched or irritated vagus nerve result in neck pain, but it can also lead to myriad issues throughout our body and mind - including increased anxiety, depression, headaches & migraines, poor digestive & immune system function, increased heart rate, and more.
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.
Signs Something Could Be Wrong With Your Vagus Nerve
Abdominal pain. Bloating. Lack of a gag reflex. Difficulty swallowing.
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.
Considering the course of the vagal nerve in the cervical region, it is thought that conditions such as stiffness, tightness and decreased elasticity in this region may compress the vagal nerve andmay affect vagal function.
Chronic stress can worsen symptoms of a dysfunctional vagus nerve. To reduce stress, make lifestyle changes like getting regular exercise, practicing meditation or yoga, and getting enough sleep. You may also want to try relaxation techniques like deep breathing or progressive muscle relaxation.
Given its role in the inflammatory reflex, chronic inflammation seems to correlate with decreased vagal nerve activation. Without suppression from this nerve, the immune system continues attacking itself, making you feel worse.
What the wellness community recommends for stimulating the vagus nerve—eye movements, meditation, massage, cold-water immersion, and singing and humming—, if it works, is likely to be beneficial through a very simple concept: relaxation.
Vagus nerve activity is decreased in chronic inflammatory conditions, including obesity.
High levels of stress and anxiety can also trigger the vagus nerve. When overstimulated, it can cause symptoms such as vomiting, dizziness and abdomen pain. However, it is possible to soothe and relax the vagus nerve by utilising breathing exercises that slow the heart rate and relax the body.
“The mammalian vagus nerve regenerates poorly after injury, which can result in loss of speech, difficulty swallowing, abnormal heart rate, and gastroparesis [improper stomach emptying],” the authors explain. In zebrafish, on the other hand, nerve regeneration is generally very successful.
Most people will experience a vasovagal response due to a stressor or overstimulation of the vagus nerve at some point. Blood pressure lowers, heart rate slows, and the blood vessels in your legs widen, which can cause nausea or fainting.
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.
At UCSF Health, our neurologists and neurosurgeons have expertise in implanting vagal nerve stimulators to treat seizures caused by diseases such as epilepsy.
Moreover, it is necessary to evaluate the cervical vagus nerve when there is no thyroid pathology, cervical esophageal cancer, or any other lesion in the tracheoesophageal groove,8 but CT scan or MRI cannot show the vagus nerve.
After consumption of the caffeine-containing beverage, a transient and significant increase (P < 0.001) in spectral integrated values (areas under the curve) of high frequency power (high component, HC) was observed, and at 30 min the value was significantly greater than in controls (P < 0.02), suggesting an increase ...
Our diet can have a significant impact on the function of the Vagus nerve, and one particular food that can negatively affect its function is sugar. One of the most problems sugar creates for the Vagus nerve is its interference with the nerve's ability to send and receive signals.