Psychotherapists, yoga teachers, and self-help types such as Mel Robbins have been talking about stimulating the vagus nerve as a way to “reset” the nervous system and calm anxiety for years.
Related video Stimulating the vagus nerve seems to reduce inflammation The vagus nerve is made up of 200,000 nerve fibers, which run from the brainstem, down each side of the neck, to the gut — touching almost every organ in the body.
Day-to-day activities can activate the vagus nerve There’s ample content online saying you can stimulate your vagus nerve through things such as cold showers, breathing exercises, body tapping, and applying pressure around the neck.
He shared three things he does regularly in the hopes of stimulating his vagus nerve and reducing inflammation.
It’s possible that meditation could increase vagus nerve activity, which in turn reduces inflammation, Tracey said, but we lack direct proof.
In order to “reset” the nervous system and reduce anxiety, self-help gurus like Mel Robbins, yoga instructors, and psychotherapists have long advocated activating the vagus nerve. However, it may be able to do much more for our health: the vagus nerve may be the key to a longer, healthier life by reducing inflammation.
As the president and CEO of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research and a neurosurgeon, Dr. Kevin Tracey writes in his new book, “The Great Nerve: The New Science of the Vagus Nerve and How to Harness Its Healing Reflexes,” that “inflammation has replaced infection as the greatest threat to healthful human longevity” in our modern world. “..”.
According to the World Health Organization, noninfectious diseases like diabetes, cancer, and heart disease—which Tracey referred to as “diseases of inflammation” to Business Insider—accounted for three-quarters of all deaths globally in 2021. Furthermore, one in fifteen Americans suffer from autoimmune diseases each year, which can be linked to chronic inflammation, according to research.
Associated video.
Inflammation appears to be decreased by vagus nerve stimulation.
The brainstem, each side of the neck, and the gut are all touched by the 200,000 nerve fibers that make up the vagus nerve.
It aids in activating the parasympathetic nervous system, which puts the body in a “rest and digest state” (the antithesis of “fight or flight”) and is essential for a number of automatic physiological functions, such as digestion, lowering heart rate and blood pressure, breathing, mood, and immune function.
Scientists are still trying to figure out what each nerve fiber does. They are aware that vagal tone, or vagus nerve activity, lowers heart rate, for example, but they are unsure which of the 200,000 fibers within the vagus nerve is responsible for this effect.
In 1997 and 2005, the Food and Drug Administration authorized the use of a vagus nerve stimulation device, which is implanted into the patient’s neck and resembles a pacemaker, to treat depression and epilepsy, respectively. However, it is also being investigated as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory condition.
This connection was first identified by Tracey and his colleagues at the Feinstein Institute in 1998. Mice’s inflammation, as indicated by blood levels of inflammatory biomarkers, was reduced by 75% when their vagus nerves were stimulated using a portable stimulator.
Daily tasks have the potential to trigger the vagus nerve.
Many articles on the internet claim that you can activate your vagus nerve by doing things like body tapping, breathing techniques, cold showers, and applying pressure to your neck. However, Tracey acknowledged that the science needed to demonstrate that any of these hacks are effective simply does not yet exist.
“It’s most likely for the best. No, not yet,” he continued, “but can we say with certainty that we understand how it all works?
However, Tracey does most of these things because he believes in his own and his colleagues’ data, and he does so in case they can help prevent chronic diseases. In his own words, “It’s a Pascal’s wager.”.
In an attempt to activate his vagus nerve and lower inflammation, he described three routine actions.
1. chilly showers.
The final two to three minutes of Tracey’s daily shower are spent with the water set to cold. He acts in this way because exposure to cold sets off the body’s fight-or-flight reaction, which has been shown to reduce inflammation.
stories that are related.
Business Insider provides the cutting-edge news you’re looking for.
The cutting-edge stories you’re interested in are covered by Business Insider.
Research indicates that following the initial cold shock, which causes your heartbeat to increase, the parasympathetic nervous system is triggered, which causes your breathing and heart rate to decrease. According to Tracey, this implies that exposure to cold triggers the vagus nerve, but it is still unknown whether this nerve plays a part in lowering inflammation.
2) Exercise for 30 minutes every day.
Tracey exercises five times a week for thirty to forty-five minutes. He combines yoga, stretching, weight and resistance training, and aerobics.
The benefits of exercise are well known, but you might be surprised to hear that scientists are still working to fully understand the mechanisms underlying these benefits, according to Tracey.
Consider running: We know that it gradually lowers resting heart rate and increases heart variability, or the interval between heartbeats, which shows that the heart is functioning effectively. Further research is required to confirm the possibility that this is due to the fact that exercise slows the heart by increasing vagal tone.
Whether or not this is the case, it is obvious that regular exercise is a good investment in your health. Strength training increases metabolic function, reduces the risk of injury, and maintains muscle mass. Walking, cycling, or swimming are examples of aerobic exercise that improves cardiovascular health and endurance, according to Tracey.
3. The practice of meditation.
Every morning, Tracey uses apps like Headspace to meditate for ten minutes.
According to Tracey, preliminary studies indicate that meditation can lower inflammation, but more research is required. According to a 2022 meta-analysis that examined 48 randomized controlled trials with 4,638 participants, people who meditated had lower blood levels of inflammatory biomarkers than those in control groups.
According to Tracey, there is no concrete evidence that meditation can lower inflammation by increasing vagus nerve activity. In any case, he has discovered that consistent meditation has helped him become more in the moment and less reactive to uncontrollable circumstances.
