What is the vagus nerve?
The vagus nerve is a long nerve in your body.
It starts in your brain and travels down to your heart, lungs, and stomach.
Think of it like a calm messenger.
It tells your body when it is safe to relax.
What does the vagus nerve do?
The vagus nerve helps your body with things like:
Slowing your heart rate
Helping you breathe calmly
Supporting digestion
Helping you feel safe and steady
Turning down stress after something scary or hard
When your vagus nerve works well, your body can:
Calm down faster
Feel less tense
Think more clearly
Why is the vagus nerve important for mental health?
When we feel stressed, anxious, or overwhelmed, our body goes into alarm mode.
The vagus nerve helps turn that alarm off.
A strong vagus nerve can help with:
Anxiety
Big emotions
Trouble sleeping
Feeling on edge
Stress in the body
It does not make problems disappear, but it helps your body handle them better.
How do you stimulate the vagus nerve?
“Stimulate” just means gently wake it up.
Here are simple ways to do that:
1. Slow breathing
Breathe in through your nose.
Breathe out slowly through your mouth.
Try this:
Inhale for 4 seconds
Exhale for 6 seconds
Longer exhales help your body relax.
2. Humming or singing
Humming, singing, or even chanting helps the vagus nerve.
Why?
Your throat and voice box connect to this nerve.
You can:
Hum your favorite song
Sing in the car
Hold one long “mmmm” sound
3. Cold water on the face
Splash cool water on your face or hold a cold cloth to your cheeks.
This sends a message to your brain that says:
“I’m safe. I can calm down.”
4. Gentle movement
Slow, gentle movement helps the vagus nerve.
Examples:
Walking
Stretching
Yoga
Rocking back and forth slowly
Fast or intense exercise can stress the body. Slow movement calms it.
5. Safe connection
Feeling safe with others helps the vagus nerve.
This can be:
A hug
Talking with someone you trust
Sitting near someone who feels calm
Eye contact with a kind person
Your body learns safety through connection.
How can you use the vagus nerve to your advantage?
You can use these tools:
Before a stressful moment
When emotions feel big
When your body feels tense
At bedtime
After a hard day
The goal is not to “get rid of feelings.”
The goal is to help your body feel safe enough to handle them.
A gentle reminder
You do not need to do everything.
Even one small calming action helps your nervous system learn.
Your body is not broken.
It is trying to protect you.
And the vagus nerve is one of the ways it knows how. 💚
