Friends & Foes of Your Vagus Nerve

Ever feel like your body's stuck in stress mode no matter what you do? The secret might be hiding in plain sight: your vagus nerve. This fascinating "wandering nerve" serves as your body's superhighway to calm—when it's functioning well. But modern life stacks the deck against it.


You don't need to overhaul your entire life to support your nervous system. Small, consistent actions create a foundation for resilience and calm. Your vagus nerve is remarkably adaptable, ready to respond to whatever support you offer. 

 Subscribe to continue exploring how wellness truly starts at vagus, and share this episode with someone who might benefit from understanding their body's pathway to calm.

Chapters

• 0:00 Vagus Nerve: Friends and Foes
• 1:40 Culprits Weakening Your Vagus Nerve
• 5:54 Allies That Strengthen Vagus Function
• 10:17 Small Habits, Big Nervous System Impact

Transcript

Emily Feist: 0:00

Today we are talking about things that help the vagus nerve and the things that hinder it.

Emily Feist: 0:07

Kind of like, the vagus nerve has friends and foes, and most of us accidentally invite more of the wrong crowd in without even realizing it. So let's unpack what's helping, what's hurting and how to start stacking the deck in your favor.

Emily Feist: 0:25

Welcome back to 'It Starts at Vagus', where we break down your body, your brain and your nervous system to work together and what you can actually do to feel calmer and more grounded, even on the hard days. I'm Emily and today we're going through the philosophy of the vagus nerve. It's the body's ultimate key to calm, connection and well-being. So if you feel anxious, stressed, burnt out, with that stuck feeling, you're in the right place. Take a deep breath in, settle down and let's explore how we can use our nervous system to support our bodies. And today we're keeping it simpler, but honestly, this might change how you think you can support your body. Let's dive in. First,

Emily Feist: 1:11

Let's talk about things that irritate or weaken your vagus nerve, and there's habits, stressors and patterns that basically tell your vagus nerve. Hey, let's make it really challenging to feel great, not so great, right, because what happens? Your body gets stuck in survival mode that fight, flight, freeze, sometimes fawn, and it holds onto it longer than it should. So here are a few of the usual culprits.

Emily Feist: 1:40

Suspect number one chronic stress. It's probably one of the biggest ones. It's where your body's constantly running on adrenaline from overwhelm, mental load, busy schedules and your vagus nerve gets stuck in that sympathetic mode where it tells your body to stay alert, be aware and protect yourself because it feels like there could be danger lurking about. Wear and protect yourself because it feels like there could be danger lurking about. And when this happens, the vagus nerve doesn't just have that automatic desire to flip the switch to go into rest and digest mode. So this is where we have to be very careful about getting stuck in that chronic state of stress.

Emily Feist: 2:19

Suspect number two lack of sleep. If you're not sleeping, your body doesn't get that time to reset itself and your vagus nerve doesn't give your body that signal that all is well. It leads to inadequate sleep. So then you get stuck in that cycle of low quality sleep, which then makes it harder to have a calm day the following day, to have a calm day the following day, and your brain and body didn't get enough rest, so it's already feeling behind, sluggish and irritable, which is not good. Nothing good can come out of being sleep deprived, which brings us to our next culprit inflammation, straight off the bat. If you don't get enough sleep, you're going to have an increased chance of having higher inflammation. So the lack of sleep, it can also come from processed food, overload sugar, overload gut issues, strong emotions. Your vagus nerve feels all of that and it becomes harder for your body to shift into that calm mode when there's that constant irritation happening under the surface. Inflammation happens so much faster and easier when we don't get a good night's sleep because it wasn't enough time in the evening to take out that cellular trash.

Emily Feist: 3:37

Next culprit would be poor posture and tension. Your vagus nerve runs from your brain down your neck, through your chest and abdomen. It goes all over. That's why it is called the wandering nerve. When you're hunched, tense and tight, it physically affects your vagus nerve. It makes it harder for the vagus nerve to work under the pressure physically and mentally. And between the inflammation and now poor posture, tension, the body is in that constant feeling of that low, chronic stress. It's just consistent.

Emily Feist: 4:14

Now I like to think of it as like being in traffic on the interstate, a healthy body has good flow of traffic and all the lanes are clear and there's no debris and the lanes are open. But if that body doesn't have enough rest, restore or hydrate, the traffic becomes much harder in your body, the traffic has a harder time with the weather, whether it's sunny or even trickier weather, like if it's snowing. The road conditions are harder. You've got road construction Now. Do most cars get to where they want to go, even with all those problems on the road? Often, yes, but there was more stress. It didn't flow easily and it went slower, which is not ideal, and that's how I think of it.

Emily Feist: 5:06

Inside your body, we have all the good habits and routines. That makes it easier inside your body for everything to flow. Nutrients get to where they need to go. Oxygen makes it all over the body. Everything works better when it's doing its job properly and without that chronic stress. Now, when it comes to life, it's not about avoiding all of the hard things. That's impossible. But when things start piling up, it's harder for your vagus nerve to help you feel safe, steady and calm. That is why we need to incorporate these practices. Okay, but the good news is your vagus nerve also has allies, things that naturally help strengthen it and renew your body and mind. So where it can say you're safe and you can calm down now, and the best part is most of these are simple, everyday things.

Emily Feist: 6:04

First up, gentle movement, like stretching, walking, rolling your shoulders back. These little movements release tension and help your vagus nerve communicate clearly. It doesn't have that tension or pressure. That movement allows openness in your body. And remember, gentle isn't forced movement. It allows you to move in a slow, comfortable, gentle way to let your body know that everything is okay.

Emily Feist: 6:35

Next healthy habit is breath work. This is probably one of my favorites. It's that slow, deep breathing, especially when you exhale Exhaling, is one of the quickest ways to nudge your vagus nerve back into safe mode. When I do my breath work, I personally love to focus on how my torso feels. I pay attention to which muscles are moving and which muscles aren't moving. Is it easy for me to breathe with my diaphragm? Am I able to do that belly breathing? Or is my breathing shallow and more up in my chest and shoulders? If you find that your shoulder breathing, that every time you breathe you move your shoulders up and down, just go ahead, give them a wiggle, stretch them out and let them allow to be more open and down. Next up, humming or singing. Your vagus nerve is connected to the muscles in your throat. So humming and singing, even gargling, that all creates like a little mini massage for your vagus nerve. Everybody feels better when they get a good massage.

Emily Feist: 7:47

Next, we need nutrients. Obviously, our body needs good nutrients for it to work well. So B vitamins, magnesium, healthy fats these all give your nervous system, including your vagus nerve, what it needs to stay strong. Now, obviously, I'm not a doctor or nutritionist, but I think we can all agree that low process and incorporating more whole foods the better. Up next is hydration. Hydration is simple, but huge Nerves depend on fluid balance to function well. So if you don't know where to start, hydration is one of the easiest things because we have full control of how much water we drink throughout the day.

Emily Feist: 8:32

Now onto a harder one rest and boundaries, protecting your downtime, saying no when you need to all of that creates space for your nervous system to reset. It can be hard, because I am preaching to the choir here, because I often get wrapped up in things that I really enjoy, so I forget to incorporate rest and I literally need to schedule it in so that I make time for my body to rest and relax. Last but not least and this is a fun one laughter and connection, social connection, safe relationships and even laughter are powerful signals to your vagus nerve that it is okay to relax. It's the emotional connection that signals safety and allows your vagus nerve to say, okay, we are safe If we're allowed to laugh, we are not in danger. So it tells your brain and body it is okay and safe to relax now.

Emily Feist: 9:34

So let me ask you if we were to look back at yesterday or even last week, would we find that you are stacking the enemies of your vagus nerve? Or are you giving your vagus nerve, whether it's another glass of water, a few deep breaths or a quick stretch? I know you can do it and your vagus nerve is here to help you. It's adaptable and the more you support it, the more your body remembers how to feel safe, steady and calm. You don't have to overhaul your life. It starts with these small little habits, these little shifts, and over time, your vagus system, your nervous system, feels the difference.

Emily Feist: 10:29

All right, friends, thanks for hanging out with me today. If this episode sparked something for you. Share it with a friend or leave a quick review, and it helps more than you know. So remember to soothe your nervous system and reclaim who you are. Thanks for listening to 'It Starts at Vagus'. New episodes are released every Tuesday. Make sure you're subscribed and share this with someone who you know could benefit. And until next time, remember wellness starts at Vagus.