So, What Even Is The Vagus Nerve?

The vagus nerve, have you heard of it? Well, we certainly have!

If TikTok is good at anything it is introducing us to new things we would never have batted an eyelid at before. If you search for ‘vagus nerve’ on TikTok you will most likely encounter video upon video of how to stimulate, ice, and reset your vagus nerve.

Although the vagus nerve seems to have recently claimed its fame as the most famous of the 12 cranial nerves in our nervous system, it isn’t just a new fad in an already oversaturated self-care market, but actually been a topic of conversation amongst breathwork coaches and doctors for quite some time.

We spoke to breathing and wellness expert and author of the two books The Blissful Breath and Power of Cold, Níall Ó Murchú, who began his journey into the wellness industry at just 16.

During his time playing basketball for Ireland as a teenager, he found breathing and meditation, martial arts, and yoga a great way to deal with the pressure and improve how he felt on the court.

He said that: “What I loved about the breathing part is that it is such a huge part of our existence and such a huge part of our experience as humans, but we also forget about it, we forget that there is a link between the cold and our breathing and how we feel.”

Read on to see Níall’s breathing techniques for keeping a calm head in stressful times and how vital the vagus nerve is to our experience as humans.

Where exactly is the vagus nerve and what does it do?

The vagus nerve begins in the midbrain and runs all the way down through the body and into some of the biggest organs. The vagus nerve has a big effect on how we are feeling and our health.

One of its main and most important jobs is moving us from a state of agitation, fear, or nervousness, our flight or fight response to the opposing part of the nervous system, where we feel safe and calm again. It essentially moves us from a sympathetic response to a parasympathetic response.

It is a very important part of our health that a lot of people don’t even think about.

Can we stimulate the vagus nerve to help control anxiety?

Like anything, our understanding of the vagus nerve and understanding of the body is always getting better and always improving. Until 2007 we knew the vagus nerve could do this amazing thing to make us feel calm despite the chaos around us, but we were not sure if we could voluntarily trigger or activate that response in people.

A very simple way to calm ourselves and activate that response is to breathe slowly and calmly with the emphasis being on long slow exhales. To really activate and trigger the vagus nerve so we can drop the heart rate and loosen the body up to make us feel safe again we have to focus on these long slow exhales.

Within about five or six of these exhales the vagus nerves activate, the heart rate starts to drop, and the body starts to soften and feel safe.

 

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A post shared by Níall Ó Murchú (@breathewithniall)

Does the vagus nerve play a role in the gut-brain axis?

I believe it (the vagus nerve) is one of the main pathways between our brain and the gut. It’s like a superhighway that connects many parts of the body.

I think people are becoming much more aware of the importance, or the existence even of the vagus nerve, as they become more aware of the importance of their gut.

Is cryotherapy effective in stimulating the vagus nerve?

With all therapies that include the cold, we have to take it nice and easy. We have to be very aware of safety and never force or never push it as the cold is such a strong force.

Saying that the first moment in our lives when we are born, it is the shock of the cold that triggers the first breath and opens the lungs. The cold is an important part of what it means to be a human and brings us to life. So, I think whatever way we approach it whether it is cryotherapy or cold showers at the end of our hot shower or an ice bath it is very good for our health and our mental health. It is a good way to train our bodies to deal with the chaos and of course, the vagus nerve is a big part of that.

What are your top two tips for stimulating the vagus nerve?

1. I would say to practice slow calm breathing with a focus on the exhale. You can practice it for one or two minutes a day.

2. To really practice and test that way of breathing, see if you can continue to breathe like that while you have a cold shower at the end of your hot shower. Enjoy your hot shower and then turn it to cold, feel the shock of the cold, and see if you can still find that long slow exhale. It can be very difficult to do that but when we learn to breathe like that in the cold then we are able to breathe like that in all of life’s difficult situations.

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