The vagus nerve is a crucial nerve that runs from your brain stem through your neck and into your chest and abdomen. It connects your brain and gut. It helps to regulate breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, and emotional state. If you are experiencing any emotional health symptoms such as depression, stress, anxiety, or fatigue, it may indicate that you have a poor vagal tone.
Let’s take a deeper dive into this issue. The article will cover the function of the vagus nerve, polyvagal theory, the importance of good vagal tone, and the causes and symptoms of poor vagal tone. We will also look at ways to improve your vagal tone for better emotional and mental health.
The function of the vagus nerve
The vagus nerve is the longest nerve in the autonomic nervous system. There are actually two nerves one on the right and one on the left. It is crucial to many functions of the body. It carries key motor and sensory information, and it supplies innervation to the heart, major blood vessels, airways, lungs, esophagus, stomach, and intestines.
It plays a role in regulating digestion, heart rate, sweating, blood pressure, and speech, among other functions. It controls the muscles of your throat and voice box. In addition, it helps the entire gastrointestinal tract work together.
Vagal tone and parasympathetic function
One of the most critical functions of the vagus nerve is the role it plays in the major parasympathetic nerve. It helps regulate blood pressure, slow the heart rate, control the gag reflex, control sweating, enables the involuntary constriction and relaxation of muscles in the gut, and controls vascular tone.
Excessive vagus nerve function can result in problems that present as dysautonomias, which are conditions in which the autonomic nervous system (ANS) does not work properly, such as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). If the vagus nerve is suddenly stimulated, it can lead to a vasovagal reflex that results in a slowing heart rate, sudden blood pressure drop, pain, sudden stress, or gastrointestinal symptoms.
However, there may be some benefits to stimulating the vagus nerve, such as interrupting hiccups, stopping supraventricular tachycardia, and diagnosing heart murmurs. Doctors have used electronic stimulation of the vagus nerve to help treat epilepsy and depression. The technique is under investigation for weight loss, hypertension, fibromyalgia, migraines, tinnitus, and inflammatory disorders. Polyvagal therapy is an emerging field that examines the role of the vagus nerve in fear response, trauma recovery, stress, mental health, emotional regulation, and social connection.
The polyvagal theory
We know from studying the animal world that the vagal nerve is a key source of the flight-fight-or-freeze response. Before the development of the polyvagal theory, those were the only responses. The polyvagal theory identified the social engagement system as a third type of nervous system response.
When you are emotionally healthy and in a non-stressful situation, you are in a normal state that the polyvagal theory calls connection. You are able to make healthy connections with other people while feeling safe. You feel peace, openness, happiness, groundedness, calm, and curiosity. Your everyday functions work well: sleep, eating, immune functions, etc.
Fight or flight vs rest and heal
In times of stress, that stress impacts your whole body. Your sympathetic nervous system causes a flight-or-fight response to keep you alive. This is true even if the stress does not present a real danger to you. Your body works to keep itself safe.
When your body sense a threat, real or perceived, it raises the levels of cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine in your system. This makes you feel angry, anxious, or afraid. Your heart rate increase, you begin to sweat, digestion slows, and blood vessels constrict. You feel pain and tension. And, you may feel like running away.
Another response may be the freeze response. If your body senses real danger or senses that you cannot escape, the parasympathetic nervous system may create a shutdown, a freeze. You may feel numbness, a sense of feeling trapped, disconnected, or dizziness. You may feel nauseous, breathe more slowly, or experience a decrease in blood pressure, heart rate, immune response, sexual desire, and pain. You may dissociate.
Experiencing a flight-fight-or-freeze response can cause even more stress. These experiences are to keep us safe from real danger, and they are supposed to be short acute events. A healthy vagal nerve and nervous system should be able to recover back to a state of calm. However, people who are experiencing poor vagal tone due to childhood abuse, trauma, or other factors, are experiencing this response constantly. When flight-fight-or-freeze- or becomes a chronic state, it becomes a serious health problem. It increases the risk of both mental and physical health issues.
The importance of good vagal tone
The vagal nerve is involved in many areas across your body making a good vagal tone very important. A good vagal tone is crucial for:
- Lowering blood pressure
- Lowering heart rate
- Managing stress and anxiety
- Regulating mood
- Decreasing inflammation or pain
- Delivering information between the brain and the gut
- Providing sensory information from the throat, lungs, and heart
- Regulating swallowing
- Regulating speech
Symptoms of poor vagal tone
Sometimes the vagal nerve is damaged. Symptoms of this condition can include:
- Abdominal pain
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Unusual heart rate
- Unusual blood pressure
- Loss of gag reflex
- Earache
- Lowered stomach acid
- Loss of voice
Even if your vagus nerve isn’t damaged, you may experience poor vagal tone. Symptoms of poor vagal tone without nerve damage can include:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Poor emotional regulation
- High stress
- Being in flight-or-fight mode
- Lowered attention span
- Increased inflammation
- Pain
Major causes of poor vagal tone
Let’s look at the major causes of poor vagal tone.
Chronic stress & poor sleep
Both poor sleep and chronic stress disrupt your sense of inner safety and can result in poor vagal tone. When your body goes into the flight-fight-or-freeze response your Your amygdala signals your hypothalamus to increase your heart rate, heighten your senses, generate heavier breathing, cause greater oxygen intake, increase cortisol levels, and rush adrenaline across your system.
This response has a healthy place in our lives. But, chronic stress that leads your body to be in a continual flight-fight-or-freeze response leads to chronically higher cortisol levels. This can disrupt synapse regulation, wear your brain down, interrupt vagal tone, compromise your emotions, and impair brain function.
Chronic poor sleep increases chronic stress and feeds a vicious cycle of a stressful state over safety. This cycle can increase your risk of mental health issues, fatigue, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Early childhood traumatic experiences
The early years of childhood are critical for neurological and overall development. A child needs safety and comfort. They are learning the safe social cues to rely upon as an adult. However, children who grow up in an abusive home either don’t receive safe social cues or see these safe social cues within an abusive environment and receive mixed messages.
Children who experience trauma no longer feel safe. This frequently results in a chronic flight-fight-or-freeze response that continues well into adulthood. Traumas include child sexual abuse, witnessing domestic violence, serious car accidents, serious illness or hospitalization, losing a parent or loved one, deep poverty, or war, among other circumstances. These are referred to as Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Those who score high on the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) test tend to have a poor vagal tone and are more likely to be in a chronic flight-or-fight or shutdown mode and develop various mental and physical health issues as a result.
Trauma in the teen years or adulthood can also cause poor vagal tone. PTSD sometimes will develop due to traumatic experiences later in life, such as car accidents, serious illness, war, sexual assault, domestic abuse, and even losing a loved one.
Head injuries and vagal tone
Head injuries may lead to poor vagal tone. These injuries may specifically cause an injury to the vagal nerve leading to symptoms of a poor vagal tone. In some cases, a concussion or traumatic brain injury affects the function of the vagus nerve. Even if the head injury doesn’t have a lasting impact, it may become a traumatic experience that feeds into the problem of a poor vagal tone. Stimulation of the vagus nerve may have neuroprotective benefits and may help recovery from traumatic brain injury.
Chronic infections
Chronic systemic infections, including infections from the Epstein Barr Virus (EBV), the Borrelia bacterium responsible for Lyme disease, enteroviruses, Varicella zoster virus, chickenpox, and HHV-6 play an important role in your brain and nervous system health.
These infections may occur near the vagus nerve, and they may be responsible for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, neurodegenerative problems, and mental health issues. They can compromise your brain health or trigger pain, inflammation, and other symptoms. Chronic infections may increase your risk of anxiety, depression, fatigue, brain fog, memory issues, cognitive issues, and other mental health or neurological problems.
Blood sugar imbalances
Your diet may contribute to poor vagal tone. Our Western diet is typically high in refined sugars and processed carbohydrates while being low in brain-healthy fats, vegetables, and clean protein. This can lead to blood sugar imbalances. A sudden drop in blood sugar can result in fatigue and brain fog.
Blood sugar imbalances can compromise your sympathetic and vagal nerve function as well as your brain and neurological health. Blood sugar imbalances can result in various symptoms that may be related to poor vagal tone, including brain fog, irritability, lightheadedness, mood fluctuations, anxiety, fatigue, and cravings.
High toxic load
We are exposed to toxins through municipal tap water, polluted air moldy indoor spaces, plastics, processed foods, beauty, body, and household products, cigarette smoke, medications, and more.
A high toxic load can have a huge impact on our brain, neurological function, and overall health. Neurotoxins, such as ethanol, monosodium glutamate, heavy metals, botulinum toxin, tetrodotoxin, and tetanus toxin, are particularly damaging to your brain function.
Toxins may breach the blood-brain barrier and compromise your cognition, mood, and brain health. Environmental toxicity may lead to poor vagal tone, anxiety, depression, fatigue, memory problems, brain fog, dementia, and neurodegenerative diseases
How to test your vagal tone
Symptoms and risk factors are one indication of potentially poor vagal tone. Here are several other ways to test your vagal tone.
Heart rate to breath rate comparison
Heart rate is the speed of your heartbeat based on the number of contractions or beats per minute. Your heart rate depends on your actual activity. Normal resting heart rate is defined as 60 to 100 beats per minute by the American Heart Association. A normal breath rate is 12 to 20 breaths per minute.
If you are really athletic, fit, or very calm, it is on the lower end or lower. Your breath rate is about a fifth of this. If your heart rate is regularly too high or the comparison between your heart rate and breath rate is irregular or abnormal, you may have a poor vagal tone.
Blood pressure
The vagus nerve plays a key role in maintaining normal blood pressure levels. A normal resting blood pressure should be in the range of 100–140 mm/Hg systolic over 60-90 mm/Hg. diastolic. Individuals with sympathetic dominance (high-stress hormones) will have high blood pressure while individuals with parasympathetic dominance (low-stress hormones) will have low blood pressure.
Resting blood pressure over 140/90 mm/Hg can be a sign of poor vagal tone and high sympathetic drive. Resting blood pressure under 100/60 mm/Hg may be a sign of dorsal vagal output causing the “freeze” impact on the body which reduces circulation and healthy blood pressure leading to fatigue.
Orthostatic hypotension test
This test uses a blood pressure cuff. Lie down for five minutes, and then take your blood pressure. Stand up and take your blood pressure immediately. If you experience an increase in blood pressure when you stand up, this can be an indication of a healthy vagal balance. It means the appropriate amount of blood flow is getting to your brain so you remain feeling stable.
The systolic pressure should naturally rise about 10 mm/hg when you stand up. If the systolic pressure remained the same or it decreased, you may have adrenal fatigue. When we stand, epinephrine is normally secreted to increase the blood pressure to overcome gravity and pump blood towards the heart.
Heart rate variation
Heart rate variability (HV) refers to the variation in the time interval between your heartbeats or your beat-to-beat interval. There are various methods that can help to detect abnormal HRV, including ECG, blood pressure measures, ballistocardiography, and photoplethysmograph (PPG). An abnormal HRV may mean that you have a poor vagal tone.
Ways to improve your vagal tone
If you are experiencing symptoms of a poor vagal tone, there are several strategies to implement to help improve your vagal tone:
Improve your sleep quality and reduce stress
Improving the quality of your sleep and reducing stress can help your body recover to a state of feeling safe. Sleep brings rest, repair, and rejuvenation. Reducing stressful situations and lessening the time you spend with negative people can help as well. Take care of yourself by engaging in relaxing activities like meditation, prayer, nature walks, exercise, reading, and journaling.
Take a proactive approach to develop a positive mindset. Practice positive affirmations. Keep regular sleep hours and practices to support your natural circadian rhythm. Make sure that your bedroom is a safe and comfortable sanctuary.
Practice gratitude with purpose as this will help with developing your positive mindset. Take time throughout the day to acknowledge small things you appreciate. If you notice that you are stressed, anxious, or angry, or find yourself in a flight-or-fight or shutdown state, stop, and identify three things that you can be grateful for. This can automatically bring you back to a safer state.
“Laughter is the best medicine.” This has always been a great saying. Laughter stimulates your vagus nerve, energizes you, and can create a greater feeling of safety. Find a funny video, watch a comedy, engage in activities and social situations that bring on laughter, and don’t be afraid to laugh at yourself. If you feel anxiety, stress, or a lack of safety, think about something funny to bring yourself back to a safe state.
Stay connected with other people
It’s natural for humans to remain connected with each other through community. Poor vagal tone can create the flight-fight-or-freeze response. Actively maintaining your connections with supportive friends and family helps you feel safer.
You have many options. Reach out to family and friends. Volunteer through your church or religious organization. Take some classes or craft workshops. Join a local walking club, book club, film club, or another hobby.
Spend time with friends and family. Go to church or participate in other uplifting groups. Volunteer. Take some arts and crafts workshops or other community classes. If it is difficult for you to put yourself out there or if you struggle with social anxiety, it may be beneficial for you to join a support group led by a therapist or a small supportive group led by a life coach or spiritual counselor.
Meditation, prayer, and deep breathing
Meditation, prayer, and deep breathing are quite effective at improving your vagal tone and calming down your system. Set aside time to practice some deep breathing. Take several long breaths to stimulate your vagus nerve and create energy. Set aside time for daily prayer and meditation to tone your vagus nerve, create safety in your body, and calm your mind. You may use guided meditation, loving-kindness meditation, somatic tracking, or other strategies.
Anti-inflammatory diet
Maintaining an anti-inflammatory diet is important to support your physical and mental health, gut health, and nervous system. It will also help reduce symptoms of stress and lower inflammation.
Eliminate all inflammatory foods, including refined sugar, gluten, refined oils, deep-fried and processed foods, conventional dairy, grain-fed meat and eggs, soda and sugary drinks, and foods that you are sensitive to. Eat more greens, vegetables, low glycemic index fruits, herbs, spices, fermented foods, healthy fats, grass-fed meat, and wild-caught fish.
Intermittent fasting
Intermittent fasting alternates between not eating (fasting) and eating (feasting) over a period of time. The benefits of intermittent fasting include cellular repair, increased autophagy, immune regulation, decreased, inflammation levels, lower inflammation, better insulin sensitivity. It also helps to reduce your risk of chronic diseases, including neurodegenerative conditions and mental health issues.
It’s quite easy to follow intermittent fasting. Start with 12 hours of fasting including your overnight sleep. Increase your fasting window gradually. Most people feel the most benefits at a 16-hour fasting window.
Improve gut health
Your nervous system and gut are directly connected to each other. Poor vagal tone can disrupt your digestion and gut health. On the flip side, poor gut health has a negative impact on your nervous system and vagal tone. Follow an anti-inflammatory diet that is abundant in veggies, healthy fats, clean protein as I explained earlier. Probiotics are incredibly important for good gut bacteria balance. In addition, add prebiotics either that feed the good bacteria and support your gut health. For many people, it is beneficial to eat plenty of prebiotic-rich foods, including onion, garlic, leek, asparagus, and Jerusalem artichokes, and probiotic-rich foods, such as sauerkraut, kimchi, and kefir.
Movement and exercise
Regular movement and exercise are crucial for the health of your nervous system. Movement and exercise help to release energy and tension from your body, help you to move out of flight-fight-of-freeze mode, increase endorphins, and elevate your mood.
Exercise for 20 to 30 minutes at least five times a week. Walking is a great way to accomplish this goal. Over time as you get healthier, you should challenge yourself with resistance training and other exercises to get your heart rate up. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) will add some cardio and strength training to your day. Add lower impact workouts, including pilates, Barre workouts, or yoga.
Use zinc and magnesium
Zinc and magnesium support neurological health, brain health, mental health, stress relief, and relaxation. Research has shown its potential benefits for traumatic brain injury, depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues. Studies have also shown the potential benefits of zinc for depression, psychosis, other mental health issues, and neurological conditions.
Magnesium-rich foods include almonds, spinach, avocados, kale, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and cashews. Zinc-rich foods include eggs, oysters, lamb, cashews, turkey, pumpkin seeds, and sesame seeds.
Use adaptogenic herbs
Herbs can help calm you and help you recover from chronic flight-fight-or-freeze responses and higher cortisol levels. You will find an abundant array of options at your local health/grocery store. Look for these herbs: Magnolia Officinalis, ashwagandha, L-theanine, banaba leaf, and maral extract that help to reduce stress, promote mental clarity, and support restful sleep and relaxation.
Hyperbaric oxygen
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been used as a treatment for decompression sickness, a hazard of scuba diving. The hyperbaric chamber has pure oxygen coming in at pressures 1.5 – 3 times the normal atmospheric pressure. Treatment times range from 30–90 minutes.
Using oxygen at higher pressures causes up to 20 times more oxygen to be absorbed by the blood and transferred to injured organs and tissues. It may be a fantastic treatment for brain health. Research has shown that hyperbaric oxygen may help to reduce heart rate, improve heart rate variability, and support vagal nerve function.
Chiropractic, massage & acupuncture therapies
Chiropractic, massage, acupuncture, and may also help to improve your vagal tone. Chiropractic care specializes in neuromuscular health and uses adjustments to your spine and eliminates misalignments in the spine that may be causing physical, neurological, or even emotional health problems. It may help to improve your heart rate variability and vagal tone.
Massage therapy works with your muscles and helps to relieve tension. It may help to reduce stress, inflammation, and pain, and help to recreate safety in your body and emotional state. Massaging certain areas of your body may be particularly good for vagal stimulation.
Acupuncture is a form of traditional Chinese medicine in which thin needles are inserted into the body to recreate balance and allow healing. It helps to stimulate the vagus nerve, regulate the nervous system, and reduce inflammation.
Final thoughts
Your vagus nerve is incredibly important to your overall well-being and health. It is responsible for many functions including regulating your blood pressure, heart rate, emotional state, and digestion.
Some common symptoms of poor vagal tone include anxiety, depression, stress, fatigue, inflammation, irregular heart rate, digestion issues, or any emotional health symptoms. If you experience these symptoms, it may mean that you have a poor vagal tone, and your vagus nerve needs some care. The above strategies use natural methods and are simple to follow for better emotional and mental health.