Your Brain/Body Highway: the Vagus Nerve

Has someone ever told you to ‘go with your gut’ or have you trusted a ‘gut feeling’ without knowing why?

This ‘gut feeling’ is more literal than you think.

When we speak about the brain/body connection, we tend to speak in vague and general terms. So, let’s get into a bit of the science (biology) here. The brain and the body are communicating back and forth through the vagus nerve.

Here’s a bit about the vagus nerve. It is the 10th and longest of the cranial nerves, and is named because it ‘wanders’ and sends out sensory fibers from your brainstem to your major organs. It makes the link between the central nervous system (CNS) and the body by innervating major visceral organs such as the heart, the lungs and the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. This is a reason that you feel your stomach tighten, when someone or something does not seem quite ‘right’, or that your stomach relaxes when he/she or it is ‘right’ for you.

The vagus nerve is a major component of the parasympathetic nervous system, (rest and digest), which constitutes the autonomic nervous system (ANS), along with the sympathetic nervous system (fight and flight). The vagus nerve oversees many crucial functions, communicating motor and sensory impulses to every organ in your body. The sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems are more or less balanced for maintaining homeostasis (equilibrium).

Functions of the Vagus Nerve: 4 Key Areas:

1)Parasympathetic; it is responsible for bodily functions while we’re at rest, ie: digestion, heart rate and metabolic processes. It’s also called the “rest and digest” system for its role in salivation, digestion, sexual arousal and urination.

2)Sensory; it processes sensory information from the throat, heart, lungs and abdomen.

3)Motor; it provides movement to the muscles of the neck responsible for swallowing and speech.

4)Special sensory; it provides taste sensation behind the tongue.

The vagus nerve also plays a primary role in the functioning of your immune system, including inflammation, digestion and our response to and recovery from stress. Basically, the vagus nerve serves as the bridge between the enteric nervous system (ENS) and the central nervous system (CNS). Most of this information traveling along the vagus nerve is going in the gut-to-brain direction, which keeps the CNS up to date on what’s going on in the ‘second brain’. This gut-to-brain communication also helps in mood regulation and in the processing of fear responses.

When, on the other hand, the brain sends signals to the gut, it is usually preparing the body to “rest and digest” or enter into “fight or flight” mode.

Fabulous Facts about the Vagus Nerve:

-It helps you breathe: Acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter elicited by the vagus nerve, tells your lungs to breathe. There are ways to stimulate your vagus nerve by doing abdominal breathing ie: by doing exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. With this technique, the exhale is first and is, at least, twice as long as the inhale. This prolonged-exhalation type of breathing may also engage the parasympathetic nervous system.

-It’s involved with your heart: it controls the heart rate and acetylcholine release slows the pulse.

-It prevents inflammation: when it gets a signal for incipient inflammation, it alerts the brain and pulls out anti-inflammatory neurotransmitters that regulate the body’s immune response.

-It impacts the parasympathetic (rest and digest) nervous system and the sympathetic (fight or flight) nervous system (for homeostasis).

-Your vagal nerve may become weak if/when you have unresolved trauma and may be linked to high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, digestive issues, ie: IBS and chronic illness. A weak vagal tone may keep you stuck in the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) or in freeze mode, which means the body believes it is in chronic threat.

-It initiates your body’s Relaxation Response: when your sympathetic nervous system is getting revved up for fight or flight responses, the vagus nerve tells your body to chill out by releasing acetylcholine. People who have a stronger vagus response may be more likely to recover more quickly after, stress, illness or injury.

-If it’s overstimulated, it can cause fainting. This is called ‘vagal syncope’ and it’s not a sign of weakness; it’s just your body responding to stress and overstimulating the vagus nerve.

-Vital, fun fact: the vagus nerve translates between your gut and your brain. So, when you get a ‘gut hunch’ or other sensation, you’re not imagining it. Your gut tells your brain how you’re feeling via electric impulses. Your gut feelings are very real so, you want to learn to ‘feel, listen and learn’ from them. Together with the mind (more logical), listening to your heart and gut (more intuitive) creates a more balanced and authentic life, one that’s more in alignment with WHO you truly are.

Ways to Hack (or Manipulate) the Vagus Nerve:

Through the work of Kevin Tracey (1998), it was discovered that by stimulating the vagus nerve with an electrical impulse, one could reduce the body’s inflammatory response. This may be helpful for the treatment of: Crohn’s Disease, rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory diseases. The newer field of bioelectronics may be treating conditions such as depression and epilepsy.

For less extreme cases, you can engage the vagus nerve and improve or strengthen ‘vagal tone,’ sort of like a workout………

A strengthened vagal tone is part of a feedback loop between physical health, positive emotions and positive social connections. So, for better emotional and physical health, you may want to engage in activities which promote these: ie: breathwork, movement, yoga, meditation, mindfulness, addressing your gut health, and bonding with others.

-Deep breathing exercises (deep abdominal breathing) reduces that ‘fight or flight’ response during stressful situations. So, use deep breathing techniques (like the one above) to stimulate the vagus nerve. Any type of deep, slow diaphragmatic breathing, where you visualize filling up the lower part of your lungs just above your belly button like a balloon….and then exhaling slowly….will stimulate your vagus nerve, and activate your parasympathetic nervous system. So take deep, slow breaths to help kick-start your body’s ‘relaxation response.’ This lowers your heart rate and calms you down.

-Maintain a healthy gut. This varies from person to person but, in general, you can: take probiotics, eat a healthy, balanced diet of whole foods, avoid unnecessary antibiotic use and moderate the consumption of sugary foods or alcohol.

It is amazing, you might even say miraculous, how your brain and body are connected. This connection is not only mental and emotional but it is, quite clearly, physical too. The vagus nerve is a major body ‘highway’ and clearly plays a vital role in our overall health and wellbeing.

“Hacking” your vagus nerve is about learning and adopting some healthy practices and techniques that keep it stimulated (strengthened) and working optimally. Some of the techniques are presented here. These are easy to implement and have solid scientific backing.

Here’s to your vagus nerve, optimal physical, emotional, and mental health and wellness, and your necessary and hopefully, much appreciated brain/body connection!

Happy Holidays and a Happy, Healthy and Fabulous 2021!