Scroll far sufficient on social media and you may hit a fast repair promising to calm your nervous system in seconds. The vagus nerve specifically has develop into wellness shorthand for ‘calm on demand’ however there’s precise science behind the way you do it correctly – and it goes far past a 15-second clip.
So, what’s the vagus nerve? Basically, the longest cranial nerve within the physique, travelling from the brainstem down via the neck and chest into the stomach, brushing previous the center, lungs and intestine. It is the principle line of the parasympathetic nervous system – relaxation, digest, restore – versus the sympathetic system that gears you as much as deal with a menace. “If you happen to consider your physique as a automobile, the autonomic nervous system is the drivetrain and brakes,” says Lou Atkinson, medical wellbeing lead of Yōjō, a well being and wellness platform specialising in vagus nerve stimulation or VNS. “The sympathetic nervous system is the accelerator, whereas the vagus nerve is your important braking system, slowing your coronary heart fee, initiating digestion and decreasing irritation.”
Activating the vagus nerve may help us really feel calmer, however the problem with fast fixes is that we’re treating the signs of nervous system dysregulation – like anxiety, insomnia, a necessity to manage all the things – relatively than the dysregulation itself. “If we deal with the symptom with out ever attending to the basis trigger, it turns into a tireless battle managing one thing that can’t dissipate except we go away the state we’re in,” explains Sarah Baldwin, a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner.
What occurs to our nervous system after we journey?
Journey obliterates virtually all our comforting routines and habits. “It’s basically a stress-test in your autonomic nervous system, and vagal tone takes the hit,” says Human Potential Coach and Breathwork Practitioner, Rob Rea. “Crossing time zones desynchronises the physique’s rest-and-digest rhythm from native day and evening – a big a part of why jet lag brings poor sleep, a racing coronary heart and low temper, not simply tiredness.” Brief nights, dry cabin air, dehydration, alcohol and caffeine all tip the physique additional in direction of fight-or-flight, leaving much less room for restoration.
For some, it goes manner deeper than jet lag. Leaving a well-recognized surroundings removes our every day security anchors, and unresolved stress can resurface as nervousness or hypervigilance amid the unpredictability of recent locations. “Lengthy after we’ve arrived, and the hazard has handed, the physique can hold replaying that very same protecting response – that’s why so many people really feel anxious or shut down for causes we won’t fairly clarify, particularly when travelling,” trauma psychotherapist Emmy Brunner says. “Launch is not about forcing it – it occurs via small, repeated doses of security, not pushing via.”
