8 Natural Ways to Improve Vagus Nerve Function

The vagus nerve acts as a critical communication pathway between the brain and major organs, influencing both physical and mental health.

Your body relies on tight communication between senses, organs, muscles, brain, and more—and one of the most critical communication lines is the vagus nerve.Axel_Kock/Shutterstock

The secret to optimal health may lie not just in your diet and exercise routine but also in a lesser-known hero: the vagus nerve.

This cranial nerve is the master regulator of the body’s delicate balances, governing everything from stress management to digestion and immunity. By unlocking its power, you can improve your well-being and resilience.

What’s the Vagus Nerve and Why Is It Important?

As the longest cranial nerve, the vagus nerve acts as a critical communication pathway between the brain and major organs. A 2018 report in Frontiers in Psychiatry highlighted the effects of parasympathetic intervention (and vagus nerve stimulation) on various bodily functions. The report showed that such intervention stimulates salivary glands, dilates blood vessels, and increases bowel motility.

Food

The vagus nerve plays a crucial role in regulating food intake, maintaining energy homeostasis, inducing satiety, and modulating inflammation. It is involved in transmitting signals from the gut to the brain, informing the brain about the stomach’s stretch and the presence of nutrients in the gastrointestinal tract. These signals help regulate feelings of hunger and fullness, influencing food intake.

Stress

The vagus nerve is also involved in the onset of psychiatric disorders and inflammatory and stress-related conditions. Vagus nerve stimulation has been demonstrated to have therapeutic potential, largely due to its anti-inflammatory and relaxing properties.

A 2022 scientific article published in Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience showed that vagus nerve stimulation creates safety cues that can recruit metabolically efficient states of calmness, such as slowing the heart rate, thereby optimizing health, growth, and restoration.

Emotions

Regulating the vagus nerve not only improves physical health but also plays a crucial role in enhancing somatic and emotional intelligence, Arielle Schwartz, a licensed clinical psychologist and author of several books on post-traumatic stress disorder and complex trauma, explains in her book “Therapeutic Yoga for Trauma Recovery.” It serves as a tool to help people relate to and connect with others in a healthy and mature manner.

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The vagus nerve is involved in the regulation of the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the “rest-and-digest” response. A well-functioning vagus nerve can promote a calmer physiological state, which, in turn, facilitates better emotional regulation and the ability to cope with stress and intense emotions.

Hydration

The vagus nerve is like a river, capable of nourishing, hydrating, and effectively caring for the entire body, Lidalize Grobler, an educational psychologist, told The Epoch Times. It can branch out, delivering the right amount of water or energy to various organs, including the kidneys, heart, and lungs.

The vagus nerve’s intuitive wisdom enables it to redistribute this water or energy under threat, prioritizing life-saving functions by blocking certain branches to focus resources on the fight-or-flight response, Ms. Grobler said.

She added that different people might require different approaches, which is why a trial-and-error method may be suitable for discovering what works best for each patient.

How to Naturally Improve Vagus Nerve Function

While medication and invasive treatments such as vagus nerve stimulation exist, there are also natural ways to improve vagus nerve function.

1. Touching

The vagus nerve runs through the face, ears, and neck. Massaging and touching these areas and cultivating sensory awareness throughout the body can naturally stimulate it, according to Dr Arielle.

A 2015 article in the Health Science Journal demonstrated that even a single session of what is called “havening” can vastly improve depression and anxiety while improving work and social adjustment. During havening, a negative event and the associated emotional state are recalled while the practitioner applies a gentle touch to the forearms.

2. Posture and Spinal Movements

Proper posture contributes to maintaining both physical and mental health. As Ms. Schwartz writes in her book, common spinal misalignments can strain the nervous system and negatively affect the vital organs.

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One effective way to enhance the functioning of the autonomic nervous system is by engaging in a variety of movements that promote spinal flexibility and correct common imbalances.

Ms. Schwartz talks about moving the spine in six directions: curling your tailbone back, which will lengthen your torso and lift your chest, then curling your tailbone forward, rolling your shoulders forward, and bringing your gaze down. Next, lean your upper body to the right and lengthen the left side of your body. Then, switch sides, bending toward the left and lengthening the right side of your body. Lastly, do a gentle twist to each side of the body. Lift your arms above your head, draw your right arm back behind you, and place your right fingertips on the chair or floor behind you and your left hand on your left knee. Take several breaths and then take the twist to the left.

According to a 2022 study published in Neuromodulation, spinal cord stimulation can help restore autonomic nervous system regulation and increase parasympathetic activity.

3. Eye Movements

The eyes provide great insight into how a person is feeling. This is because they are closely tied to the autonomic nervous system.

When your stress response is activated, your pupils dilate to help you scan the environment. When you feel safe, your eyes tend to sparkle and express warmth, signaling that your social engagement system is active, Ms. Schwartz wrote in her book.

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Given the connection between the eyes and the vagus nerve, one way to achieve natural vagal stimulation is to practice stretching and engaging the eye muscles, which can help them relax. The eyes have a direct connection to the muscles at the base of the skull, so moving your eyes can also release neck muscles, increasing blood flow to the brainstem and vagus nerve, Ms. Schwartz wrote.

According to Ms. Schwartz’s book, specific movements to stimulate the vagus nerve include stretching and releasing the eye muscles by bringing them to the left and right without turning the head. Another option is to bring both hands behind your head for support, bringing your gaze toward your right elbow. Stay in that position for several breaths and observe for subtle cues that your body is relaxing. After 10 breaths, repeat the process, bringing your gaze toward your left elbow.

4. EMDR

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a form of cross-lateral movement, but it’s also an eye movement, making it extra potent to stimulate the vagus nerve.

Ms. Schwartz wrote that feeling unsafe could disrupt neural connections between different areas of the brain, interfering with the brain’s ability to integrate information at cognitive, emotional, and sensorimotor levels (e.g., coordination and balance). Therefore, to effectively regulate the vagus nerve, it’s crucial to use brain integration strategies that foster healthy neurological connections between the left and right sides of the brain, as well as between the upper and lower brain centers.

One of the most well-known therapeutic applications of brain integration is EMDR, which uses bilateral eye movements to facilitate communication between the left and right hemispheres of the brain. This process mimics rapid eye movement sleep and activates the parasympathetic nervous system, according to a 2008 article in the Journal of Anxiety Disorders.

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According to Ms. Schwartz, cross-lateral movements can help create a coherent nervous system state, allowing people to make decisions, handle conflicts, and respond to stress more integratedly and effectively.

5. Breathing

The heart and lungs are deeply interconnected with each other and the autonomic nervous system, making breath regulation essential for maintaining nervous system balance.

Long, slow exhalations stimulate the vagus nerve, initiating a parasympathetic relaxation response that calms the body, according to a 2018 study in the Mental Illness Journal. Alternate nostril breathing has also been shown to affect the parasympathetic nervous system significantly.

People regulate their nervous systems through breathwork, Romy Michelson, drama therapist in South Africa, told The Epoch Times. By finding a quiet space within themselves, her clients can repeatedly return to this state, which supports vagus nerve regulation, she added. Ms. Michelson said she had observed that clients feel empowered when they regulate their vagus nerve, realizing there are alternatives to increasing medication. Even taking one deep breath can activate a state of calm, she noted.

6. Humming

When we perceive a threat, the tone of the inner ear muscles slackens, increasing sensitivity to high- and low-frequency sounds, Ms. Schwartz wrote in her book. Hearing a low-frequency threat, such as an animal growl, triggers an immediate sympathetic nervous system response, engaging self-protective defenses.

Similarly, high-frequency sounds in nature, such as the screeching of monkeys or birds, often signal potential threats, causing the brain to interpret these frequencies as dangerous, according to Ms. Schwartz. Conversely, when we feel safe, the inner ear muscles tense, enhancing sensitivity to the human voice. These “sounds of safety” activate the social nervous system, promoting a full-body experience of ease, she wrote. Relaxing sounds, including music, ocean waves, humming, gongs, and singing bowls, can be a powerful way to stimulate the vagus nerve.

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According to a paper in Frontiers in Psychology, singing has been shown to regulate the vagus nerve.

7. Cold Water Exposure

Vagal tone can be increased by enhancing the activity of your parasympathetic nervous system through cold exposure, such as a cold shower.

A 2008 study showed that although the sympathetic nervous system is initially activated when exposed to cold water, repeated exposure and acclimation to the temperature lead to a shift toward increased parasympathetic activity.

8. Laughter

Laughter stimulates a rhythmic breathing pattern that activates the parasympathetic nervous system, regulated by the vagus nerve. When the rhythmic breathing from laughter activates the parasympathetic system, it stimulates the vagus nerve.

The rhythmic breathing and muscular activity involved in laughter activate the vagus nerve’s parasympathetic pathways. This helps counterbalance the sympathetic “fight-or-flight” stress responses and improves vagal tone for overall bodily regulation and relaxation.