Feeling Anxious? These Vagus Nerve Exercises May Help

Our bodies are incredibly complex, and most of us have no idea how all the systems work together. If we realized just how intricate these systems are, we’d like to treat our bodies more like temples and less like dumping grounds. Thankfully for us, scientists and health professionals dedicate their careers to learning about and understanding the human body. They share their knowledge with us, enabling us to learn how to use this incredible tool properly.

By Wix

Take the vagus nerve, for example. If you know what it is and how it works, give yourself a point. If not, we’re here to help. The vagus nerve is the longest and one of the most important of our 12 cranial nerves. It travels from the brain to various parts of our body, including the heart, lungs, and digestive system. The vagus nerve helps with blood pressure, breathing, digestion, heart rate, and speech.

If you are someone who suffers from anxiety, you’ll notice that some of the areas the vagus nerve controls are the same ones that act up when you’re anxious. Does your heart race? Maybe your breathing seems shallow. Or, you might feel a tummy ache. If that’s the case, there’s not only a connection, but also a way to help.

By Wix

According to UVA Health, we can exercise our vagus nerves when we feel anxiety to help calm ourselves down.

Breathe Deeply And Slowly

Take a deep breath and hold it, then blow out slowly. When you inhale, imagine you’re smelling a birthday cake, and when you exhale, you blow out the candle on top. Closing your eyes and getting into a steady rhythm will help.

Splash Some Cold Water

The sudden splash of cold water in your face or on your body will stimulate the vagus nerve and slow your heart rate. We often see this trick in movies or on television. It’s not just for show. That temperature change can have a big effect. Taking a sip of cold water can also help release enzymes that improve digestion.

By Wix

Make A Little Noise

Your vagus nerve runs right through your vocal cords. Getting those babies to vibrate with a bit of singing, humming, or chanting can help you relax. If that’s not for you, listening to your favorite music can bring back those breathing exercises.

“It turns out that many of the activities that we associate with calmness—things like deep breathing, meditation, massage and even the experience of awe—effect changes in the brain, in part, through increasing vagus nerve activity,” Vernon B. Williams, MD, a sports neurologist at Cedars-Sinai, explained.

Learning to exercise the vagus nerve to calm anxiety properly may take some trial and error. Find what works best and implement it when you start to feel overwhelmed. You just might be surprised what a deep breath or some humming can do.