Key Takeaways — Support your vagus nerve for daily calm and resilience

The vagus nerve is your body’s built-in regulator for stress, digestion, and emotional balance. A few minutes of daily attention keeps it strong and helps you feel grounded.

• Slow, deep breaths to calm the mind and body

• Mindful eating and restful pauses between bites

• Brief cold exposure (like a splash of cold water)

• Laughter, humming, or gentle movement to reset your system

Small daily practices add up—boosting resilience, mood, and wellbeing.

 

The vagus nerve has become something of a buzzword in health and wellness circles, but in reality, most people don’t know what it is or what it is so important.

The vagus nerve is one of your cranial nerves – specifically number 10 of 12 – which are all somewhat special in that they arise from your brain (versus your spinal cord) and act as direct brain-to-body messengers. The vagus nerve specifically is central to how we regulate stress, recovery, and digestion. It also plays a significant role in how we regulate our emotions and maintain balance. Understanding its functions, and how to support them, can give you a deeper appreciation for the body’s built-in resilience system.

 

A Little More Anatomy and Physiology

The vagus nerve is the longest cranial nerve in the body. It originates in the brainstem and extends down through the neck into the chest and abdominal cavities. Its fibers are both efferent (sending motor commands from the brain to the organs) and afferent (carrying sensory information from back from the organs to the brain). This dual function allows the vagus to act as a bidirectional communication highway between brain and body. 

Most importantly, the vagus nerve is a major component of the parasympathetic nervous system—the system often referred to as overseeing “rest and digest” functions in the body. It slows heart rate, stimulates digestive secretions, regulates inflammation, and helps restore a sense of balance after stress. Strong vagal tone - which is how we refer to vagus nerve function - is associated with resilience, emotional regulation, and reduced risk of chronic disease 

 

How Vagal Tone Affects Health

Low vagal tone has been associated with anxious or depressed mood, digestive irritability, and chronic inflammation. Conversely, high vagal tone supports adaptability and health across multiple systems. In other words, when your vagus nerve is functioning well, you recover from stress more efficiently, digest more smoothly, and maintain a more stable emotional baseline.

Emerging research into medical practices like vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) suggests potential benefits for multiple health concerns and is a very interesting area of research.  But for those simply looking to maintain strong vagal tone for overall health there are some simple everyday strategies anyone can practice.

 

Everyday Ways to Support Your Vagus Nerve

• Diaphragmatic breathing — Deep belly breathing increases vagal activity and heart rate variability

• Meditation and mindfulness — Regular practice reduces sympathetic (fight-or-flight) dominance and improves parasympathetic balance.

• Movement — Gentle exercise like yoga or walking help regulate vagal pathways

• Cold exposure — Brief cold showers or face immersion can stimulate vagal reflexes.

• Intentional vocalization — Singing, humming, or chanting all engage branches of the vagus nerve in the throat and promote calmness

• Nutrition and sleep — A nutrient-rich diet and adequate rest are essential for healthy vagal signaling, especially given its central role in gut-brain communication.

Some Targeted Product Support Can Help Too

While practices like breathing and meditation are valuable tools for vagus nerve health, targeted support can also play a role. Here a few suggestions. 

• Daily Drops. Full-spectrum CBD can help to modulate stress responses, complementing the function of the vagus nerve.

• Daily Nutri-Greens. Because the vagus nerve has extensive connections with the gut, nutrition is critical. The pre- and pro-biotic blends found in this product may be especially helpful in feeing the gut-brain axis via the microbiome. 

• Relief Balm. Physical discomfort can keep the body in sympathetic overdrive. Relief Balm helps soothe localized aches, reducing physiological strain and giving the vagus nerve space to promote calm and repair.

 

It’s Really About Maintaining Balance

Fundamentally, when people are talking about the vagus nerve they are really talking about part of the physiology underlying how we maintain balance when faced with stress, either emotional or physical. You may have other practices that you already engage in that are working to support this same pathway, but it never hurts to have a few extra tools in your toolbox. 

 

References

• Breit S, Kupferberg A, Rogler G, Hasler G. Vagus nerve as modulator of the brain–gut axis in psychiatric and inflammatory disorders. Front Psychiatry. 2018;9:44. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00044

• Thayer JF, Lane RD. Claude Bernard and the heart–brain connection: further elaboration of a model of neurovisceral integration. Biol Psychol. 2009;79(2):122-127. doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2008.08.009

• Bonaz B, Sinniger V, Pellissier S. The vagus nerve in the neuro-immune axis: implications in the pathology of the gastrointestinal tract. Front Neurosci. 2017;11:49. doi:10.3389/fnins.2017.00493