Welcome to this Insight Timer talk on vagus nerve resets.
And take a deep breath in and place one hand on your chest.
Your nervous system is talking to you right now.
It's been talking this whole time.
Today,
I'm going to show you how to talk back.
By the end of this talk,
You'll learn the most powerful tools backed by actual neuroscience.
On how to bring your body back to a state of calm in under two minutes.
You may have heard the vagus nerve called a nerve superhighway.
It runs from your brainstem all the way down through your neck,
Chest,
And into your gut.
It's really the star player of your parasympathetic nervous system.
This is the rest and digest side of your nervous system.
And it's constantly talking to your heart,
Your lungs,
Your stomach,
And your brain.
Sending signals back and forth about whether you are safe.
Now you may have also heard of the term vagal tone.
Think of this as your calm capacity.
So it's a measure of how resilient your nervous system is.
One beautiful thing about this whole reset is that vagal tone is trainable,
So you're not stuck with the nervous system you currently have.
There are things you can do to help you feel better.
Here are the three best ways to create more calm quickly.
The first vagus nerve reset is extended exhale breathing.
Lengthening your exhale is one of the fastest ways to calm your system down.
The science behind it is that your exhale activates the vagus nerve more than your inhale does.
So a longer exhale directly stimulates that rest and digest response.
My go-to pattern for extended exhale breathing is an inhale for four counts,
Hold for two,
And exhale for six to eight counts.
That's it.
You can do this before a difficult conversation.
While you're sitting in traffic.
Or maybe when you begin to gain awareness of an anxiety spike.
The second most effective vagus nerve reset is cold water on the face or wrists.
Cold exposure triggers what's called the dive reflex and this slows your heart rate and directly activates the vagus nerve.
So splash cold water on your face.
Hold your wrists underwater for 30 seconds.
You can even hold an ice cube in your hand,
And your heart rate can drop within seconds.
This is a great skill I learned from DBT.
I use it for extreme upset or overwhelm.
It's a really fast way to reset the system.
The third most effective vagus nerve reset is humming.
Chanting,
Or even singing.
This is more of a fun one.
The vagus nerve runs through your vocal cords,
So the vibration from vocalizing directly stimulates those vagal fibers.
This is actually part of why sound baths or chanting practices have been done for so long.
Because there's real physiology behind it.
Try humming a note for five to 10 seconds.
And notice the vibration in your chest.
You can also gargle water or sing out loud or try chanting vu breath.
You can inhale and just breathe out the sound vu.
This one's great for your morning commute or winding down before bed.
Even resetting after an argument.
You can use these vagus nerve resets in a difficult moment or for daily regulation.
Long-term practice again will increase that vagal tone and your overall nervous system resilience.
So you don't have to wait until you're in a difficult situation to use these.
The goal is continual practice,
Continual regulation,
So you always stay in control.
Thank you for being here and helping yourself learn some great tools.
Take care of your nervous system because it's taking care of you.
