The vagus nerve is a pair of nerves, one on each side of the body. It plays a critical role in how your body functions. The human body has 12 cranial nerve pairs, and the vagus nerve is the 10th one. The cranial nerves are connected directly to the brain or brain stem, and they deliver messages and information between the brain and different areas of the body.
The vagus nerve is the only cranial nerve pair that originates in the cranium. Its primary function is to connect the head to various areas of the body, although it also has some roles to fill around the face and throat. It delivers messages to and from the brain and many vital organs including:
- Heart
- Kidneys
- Liver
- Lungs
- Colon
- Digestive tract
- Gallbladder
- Neck (esophagus, larynx, pharynx)
- Sex organs (females)
- Spleen
- Stomach
- Tongue
- Ureter
The vagus nerve is essential for communication between the brain and all of these organs. In fact, the brain uses the vagus nerve to control the parasympathetic nervous system, which deals with the digestion, detox, healing, recovery, and rest elements of the nervous system. It is an incredibly important nerve and has more impact than any other nerve.
Let’s take a deeper look at the vagus nerve especially in relation to mitochondria and the cell danger response.
Mitochondria are organelles that produce ATP, the body’s energy currency. In addition, they play a crucial role in cellular defense. When faced with a threat, the mitochondria shift from producing energy to becoming defenders. Mitochondria protect and defend themselves and the body when they face threats from chemicals, environmental stressors, heavy metals, infections, physical trauma, psychological trauma, and toxins. They do this through a metabolic function known as the cell danger response (CDR) process. Theories looking at CDR offer new insights for understanding disease.
The role of metabolic dysfunction in chronic disease
CDR is the natural response for the body to heal itself after injury or threat. As the mitochondria shift away from normal energy production into CDR, they fight off whatever threatens the body. CDR protects the body and cells from damage.
However, problems can occur if the body remains in a CDR stance for too long. It can inhibit healing because the mitochondria are not producing energy to fuel that healing. In some cases, the body fails to shift out of CDR and back into normal ATP production.
Fatigue can result when the body remains in CDR for too long. People with a chronic infection are vulnerable to a persistent state of CDR and low energy production.
When this happens, it is crucial to pinpoint whatever is preventing the body from healing as opposed to what first caused the illness. The bacteria, virus, toxin, or chemical may longer be around, but the CDR process continues. Then the illness becomes chronic. Unblocking the healing process can help fight chronic illness. This is when the importance of the vagus nerve becomes clear.
Stimulating the vagus nerve to turn off the CDR Process
Stimulating the ventral and dorsal branches of the vagus nerve may help to switch off CDR.
Many times, a body that is stuck in CDR is actually in a freeze response rather than a fight-or-flight response. The freeze response is a collapsed, hibernation mode emanating from the dorsal part of the vagus nerve. This hibernation mode is similar to the response of a threatened animal when it plays dead.
So, the body has 3 essential responses to threats:
- Fight-or-flight mode (the sympathetic nervous system response)
- Rest, digest, and heal mode (the parasympathetic response of the ventral vagus nerve)
- Collapsed, hibernating, playing-dead, or shut-down mode (the parasympathetic response of the dorsal vagus nerve)
The objective is to shift the nervous system into the rest, digest, and heal mode by stimulating the ventral vagus nerve. This helps reduce inflammation, fight chronic illness, and stimulate healing.
When the ventral area of the vagus nerve is active, your mood is generally good. You feel happy and socially connected. This happens at the cellular level as well, because the vagus nerve enables communication between the cells and brain.
The ventral vagus nerve is important to healing, but it’s the area that shuts down when CDR occurs. When the ventral vagus nerve is stimulated, it signals to the body that everything is okay. That is also the signal for the body to shift out of CDR and back to normal ATP production. Everything occurs all the way down to the cellular level.
Supporting the mitochondria to naturally support the vagus nerve
Because this system is bidirectional, supporting the mitochondria can also support the vagus nerve and vagal tone. Poor vagus nerve function can cause a variety of symptoms such as:
- Gastroparesis (delayed gastric emptying)
- Heartburn
- High or low heart rate
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Weight gain and obesity
- Anxiety
- B12 deficiency
- Chronic fatigue
- Depression
- Difficulty swallowing
- Dizziness and fainting
Many of these symptoms overlap with symptoms of poor mitochondrial function. Removing sources of interference that damage the mitochondria, such as chemical toxins, environmental toxins, EMFs, heavy metals, and forms of infection (bacterial, parasitic, and viral), can support the mitochondria and help the body heal.
Activating the vagus nerve and reversing the CDR
The objective is to shut off the fight-or-flight response and shift away from the dorsal vagus hibernation stance in order to fight chronic illness. This helps reset the ventral vagus nerve’s rest, relax, and healing process. Stimulating the vagus nerve helps switch off CDR so that the mitochondria return to energy-producing mode again.
Daily vagus nerve stimulation can come from lifestyle changes such as:
- Acupuncture
- Cold therapy
- Deep breathing
- Gargling
- Intermittent fasting
- Laughter
- Massage
- Meditation
- Physical activity
- Singing and vocal exercises
- Social enjoyment
- Yoga, tai chi, and qigong
Some other ways to stimulate the vagus nerve include:
- Spending time in nature
- Sunlight exposure
- Using essential oils
- Water therapies
- Circadian rhythm management
- Eating healthy foods
- Gratitude journaling
- Improving sleep quality
Recovery from vagus nerve dysfunction and chronic illness
Promoting a relaxed, calm emotional state encourages recovery. This enables the vagus nerve to signal to the brain and cells to begin healing. Essentially, it’s telling the entire body that it’s safe for the body to switch out of threat mode and into healing mode. The vagus nerve manages digestion, rest, and recovery. Following some of these exercises and lifestyle habits may help you feel better and have a whole new relaxed, calm, and comfortable life experience.