The Vagus Nerve: Your Key To Health

Vaga in Latin means “to wander”. The vagus nerve is the longest cranial nerve within our autonomic nervous system that wanders from the brain, through the body, to the abdomen [1]. The vagus nerve is the main part of the parasympathetic nervous system.

When the vagus nerve is not functioning optimally, it can lead to depression, anxiety, obesity, cardiovascular disorders, hypertension, digestive disorders, kidney malfunction, infertility, chronic inflammation, diabetes, and even Parkinson’s disease [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8].

The malfunctioning of the vagus nerve can be caused by stress, improper diet, alcohol, and lack of exercise. 

The vagus nerve is such a crucial component to depression treatment that in severe cases, it is stimulated by medical professionals using an electrode. The vagus nerve is a major contributor to depression and anxiety treatment [9,10]. Activation of the nervous system results in increased happiness, relaxation, better sleep, and improved immunity function. Studies have shown that vagus nerve activation treated depression, even in treatment-resistant cases [11]. 

The most effective way to activate the vagus nerve is with breathing techniques. Additionally, it can be stimulated by splashing cold water on your face, humming or chanting, exercise, yoga, probiotics, laughing, and affection [12]. 

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9. Bremner, J. D., Gurel, N. Z., Wittbrodt, M. T., Shandhi, M. H., Rapaport, M. H., Nye, J. A., Pearce, B. D., Vaccarino, V., Shah, A. J., Park, J., Bikson, M., & Inan, O. T. (2020). Application of Noninvasive Vagal Nerve Stimulation to Stress-Related Psychiatric Disorders. Journal of personalized medicine, 10(3), 119. https://doi.org/10.3390/jpm10030119
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