Could It Be Your Vagus Nerve?

To start, what's a vagus nerve (pronounced like Las Vegas)?  This sinewy little nerve is pretty important and starts at the medulla (in your brain) and travels all the way down, past your chest and beyond your stomach.  The vagus nerve is responsible for literally a multitude of of our bodily functions from feeling happiness, depression to irritable bowel syndrome.

The vagus nerve is so important that many health issues can be back-tracked, at least in part, to the vagus nerve having low tone.

Wondering if what you are feeling lately is due to the vagus nerve?  It is safe to say that damage to the vagus nerve can result in a host of symptoms and here are just a few:
*  Difficulty swallowing (dysphagia)
*  Hoarseness in voice (dysphonia)
*  Epilepsy (seizures)
*  Incontinence (urinary control)
*  Irritable bowel syndrome (alternating diarrhea/constipation)
*  Arrhythmia (abnormal heart beat or rhythm)
*  Dizziness, shortness of breath
*  Gastroparesis, digestive difficulties, refllux,
*  Obesity, low insulin production, diabetes
*  Depression, anxiety, memory loss, confusion, migraine headaches

And, the vagus nerve has an impact on our conscious and subconcious feelings - such as feelings of happiness or depression.  Thinking it's your vagus nerve causing your symptoms?   Click this link for the You Tube Video.

The term "vagus" is a Latin term, meaning "wandering" because this nerve meanders and branches out throughout the body.  It is also referred to as cranial nerve X.  The vagus nerve is a MAJOR player in our body (parasympathetic nerve functions) regulating bodily functions.  When something is amiss or there is vagal nerve damage, it's like a football team without a quarterback.

For example - when you are presented with a situation that causes "fight or flight" emotions - your brain signals your body to release epinephrine (adrenaline) a stimulant to "give you strength to deal with the situation (remember stories about a mother lifting a car off of her child?  She was utilizing adrenaline).  Once the danger passes, the vagus nerve starts to take over by signaling the parasympathetic nerve system to calm the body...lower heart rate....so bodily functions such as digestion may continue.

The vagus nerve has far reaching effects on our body.   Our feelings of sexual arousal, desire, speech, swallowing, heart rate, moderating inflammation are all impacted by the proper functioning of the vagus nerve.

The Enteric Nerve System (ENS) is also impacted by the function of our vagus nerve and is so important that it is almost called our second brain.  There are some 500 million neurons in our digestive process which are impacted by our vagus nerve and enteric nerve system to aid in digestion of food.  The ENS is called a second brain because it can function even if the vagus nerve is severed.

Now that we have covered some of the bodily functions impacted by the good health of our vagus nerve, it is now felt that our feelings of happiness or depression are impacted as well by our vagus nerve.  Did you know that your gag reflex is stimulated by the vagus nerve?

Each of us varies in regards to our vagus nerve and vagal tone; however, it is felt that an individual with good vagal tone will have a better chance of good overall medical health and a sense of happiness.

While it is impossible to measure our vagal tone, if you are overweight, the vagus nerve plays a huge part in the production of insulin, and being sedentary or inactive, you may have feelings of depression due to poor vagal tone.  In addition, poor vagal tone may cause symptoms of constipation or dull the sensation of feeling full after eating a nice balanced meal causing you to overeat, gain weight and be at risk for diabetes, cardiovascular health issues, and depression (a vicious circle, indeed)!

So, here's to improving our vagal tone...how do we do that?   Researchers are just now performing studies on patients with perceived low vagal tone and having them work on increasing their mood by support systems, using loving kindness in their lives and as they began to improve their emotional well-being and taking control over outside influences that make them stressed, sad or feelings of low-self esteem, they began to experience an upward spiral and increased vagal tone.

Clearly, this shows that we can improve our vagal tone which positively impacts our physical bodies.  I think the vagus nerve is very overlooked in many individuals suffering symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular issues because of our vagus nerve.

Specialists in neurology offer implantation of a vagus nerve stimulator to treat patients with epilepsy (seizures) and were SURPRISED to note a nice side effect...while improving the vagal tone, patients experienced less depression, which in turn, made them feel better physically, allowed them to lose weight, exercise and improve cardiovascular function, control diabetes and improved memory.

How do we improve our vagal tone for overall better health and happiness?  If you are in a tough and chronic cycle of depression, this may be a very difficult nose dive to come out of.   However, improving your emotional health one step at a time is a great FIRST step in turning that nose dive into a climb and reach for the sky.

Take a few minutes each day and talk to yourself - positive thoughts, positive affirmations, letting go of the negative or putting it aside for awhile (sometimes, I spend 15 minutes in the tanner, but that's just me..and the "me time" is important).

Exercise in any form (house cleaning is considered exercise), walking, moving, is a great way to increase your vagal tone.

Due to the constant interplay between the brain and the gut, there is a huge impact in what we eat and how we feel as well as our vagal tone.  A healthy diet that includes Omega-3 fatty acids will help increase vagal tone.  The presence of symbiotic bacteria in the gut to aid in digestion will also increase vagal tone.  How many of us have heard that stress impacts irritable bowel syndrome?   ABSOLUTELY!

In short, I think we have sold our vagus nerve out when it comes to our overall health and well being.  So, if you ask me, work on feeling good, get moving, get rid of stress, because a healthy vagus nerve is going to make you feel better, aid in weight loss, improve cardiovascular function, lessen depression and the list goes on.

Want to learn more about your vagus nerve?    There are some great articles on the web...and here's to the newest craze of exercising your vagus nerve for good health!