Tell your vagus nerve to breathe, please

Did you know that conscious breathing can do wonders for your mental health by stimulating the vagus nerve? This breathing exercise could make all the difference to your mental health and help you reduce stress and anxiety. Try it!

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Few people know about the existence of the vagus nerve, a part of the body that is responsible for many functions that allow us to enjoy life. This nerve connects many of your most important organs and does the job of helping your nervous system rest. By significantly impacting your breathing, digestion, and heart rate, this nerve can have a strong influence on your mental health.

To estimate the activity of this nerve, doctors have created a fairly effective parameter called “vagal tone”. Vagal tone is a form of measurement that evaluates vagal nerve responses. In this sense, high vagal tone is related to reduced stress, which in turn reduces heart rate and pressure, and improves digestion. In addition, some studies have also linked it to increased positive emotions. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? However, as with everything, there is the other side of the coin. Specialists have found, for example, that pregnant women with depression, anxiety or anger tend to have lower vagal activity. The good news is that there are ways to exercise the vagus nerve.

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If you suffer from anxiety or stress, stimulating your vagus nerve can help improve your mental health and reduce your symptoms. There are many ways to do this, such as taking cold baths, singing, humming, ingesting probiotics, consuming Omega-3, exercising, meditating, receiving massages, socializing and even laughing. One of our favorites is breathing, because you can do it anywhere, anytime and it's free.

It has been demonstrated in multiple studies that breathing deeply and slowly can significantly reduce stress and anxiety by activating the vagus nerve. The key to this technique is to breathe slowly about six times in one minute, allowing air to pass through the diaphragm, expanding the stomach and exhaling for a long time. Here are three mindful breathing exercises that you can practice anytime, anywhere:

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Method 4x4

Step 1: Inhale for four seconds

Step 2: Hold the air for four seconds

Step 3: Exhale for four seconds

Step 4: Repeat four times

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Method 4-7-8

Step 1: Inhale for four seconds

Step 2: Hold the air for seven seconds

Step 3: Exhale for eight seconds

Step 4: Repeat as many times as you think necessary

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Free method

Step 1: Inhale as slowly as you can

Step 2: Keep the air as long as possible

Step 3: Exhale slowly

Step 4: Repeat 30 to 40 times

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These simple exercises will help you strengthen your vagus nerve. They won't solve every problem in your life, but together with psychological therapy and other emotional tools, they'll give you some of the peace you're looking for. For more tips, go to Mindsurf. We are with you!

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