Are you one of those who take long time to come out of a stressful situation? Do you often take long time to recover after workout? Do you have anxiety issues? Are you suffering from digestive disorders? Then, dear, you got to strengthen your Vagus Nerve! Keep on reading to know what is this nerve which sounds like Las Vegas 😀
Vagus nerve is the longest cranial nerve (nerves that emerge directly from the brain) and most important connection between brain and body. This nerve starts from Brain stem, travels through chest, heart, abdomen, spleen, and other organs to the Digestive system. Hence, this acts as direct communication between your digestive system (your gut) and your brain. Ah! So, this is the reason why our mood depends on our food! Vagus Nerve is the straight connection here!
Now, Vagus Nerve is part of Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS, one type of autonomous nervous system) and controls all involuntary body processes like breathing, swallowing, heart beat, blood pressure, hearing, speech, taste, circulation, digestion, gut health, bladder movements, fertility, etc.,
The major functions of PNS is to take care of your Rest, Recovery and Digestion, whereas the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS, another type of autonomous nervous system) is there for Fight or Flight response. The trick here is, both PNS & SNS should be in balance for optimal health. But, we often tend to have a very active SNS and a weaker PNS.
As there are many functions that Vagus Nerve controls, weak vagus nerve leads to anxiety, depression, obesity, digestive disorders, hypertension, kidney malfunction, cardiovascular disorders, diabetes, etc., It is such an important nerve that, doctors are stimulating Vagus Nerve with electric impulses to increase its activity. How can we avoid reaching this stage and how do we stimulate this nerve naturally?
1) A simple walk stimulates vagus nerve.
2) Research has proved long back that yoga and exercise are very much beneficial in stimulating the vagus nerve.
3) Breathing in and out very deeply calms your nervous system. Especially extended inhale/exhale stimulates the vagus nerve. This happens in pranayama when chanting the OM sound and this is the reason we feel a lot more connected to ourselves after doing pranayama.
4) Probiotic rich food is the best way to keep your vagus nerve active. Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts that are good for your gut and your overall system. The most famous probiotic food is your curd or yogurt. Your range of good gut bacteria can be improved by eating wide variety of natural whole foods. The more the variety in your food, the more your gut bacteria protects your gut.
5) Potassium and Magnesium (both high in green leafy vegetables) are the minerals that improve your PNS and thus your vagus nerve.
6) Research suggests that two other natural ways to stimulate the vagus nerve are laughing (yes!) and massaging.
So, if you just give the whole article a quick glance, you will realize that once again the two important elements that have proven to improve your Mind-Body connect through the very important cranial nerve, the Vagus Nerve are: Physical Activity & Nutrition! Jesus, these two are just wonders!
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