Doctor Shares Easy Way To Relieve Your Anxiety Using Your Vagus Nerve

Jul 31, 2018 by apost team

Anxiety can be crippling at times. It can disrupt our daily lives. But what if there were a way to relieve anxiety without a bunch of pills or therapy? Doctors think they may have found an easy way to relieve anxiety naturally with the vagal response.

A vagal response is what happens when your vagus nerve is stimulated. The vagus nerve is the nerve that runs from your brain stem to your major internal organs. It also connects to your tongue and vocal chords. By stimulating the vagus nerve, it is said that anxiety is relieved.

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So if a vagal response helps relieve anxiety, how do you cause a vagal response? One common way is yoga. For years, yoga masters have been using the vagus nerve as part of their practice. Deep breathing is a great way to stimulate the vagus nerve which is why deep breathing is so common in yoga.

Deep breathing isn’t as easy as it sounds. In order to help relieve anxiety, it is important to practice breathing from the diaphragm, not just the chest. The diaphragm is the muscle wall that is between our stomaches and our lungs. When we have severe anxiety or panic attacks, we tend to have shallow chest breaths. This doesn’t stimulate our vagus nerve.

For this to really work, you need to practice regular deep breathing to really stimulate the vagus nerve. The more you do it, the easier it will become for you. In order to breath from your diaphragm, there are a few simple tricks to follow. The easiest way to learn is by lying down.

Begin by lying down with your knees bent just slightly. Use a pillow to make yourself comfortable. Place your hand just below your rib cage. Place your other hand on your chest. Breathe in deeply. Tighten your stomach muscles. Make sure your stomach is moving up and down as you breathe, but try to keep your chest as still as possible. Once you master deep breathing laying down, you can try deep breathing sitting up if you wish. Regular practice will keep you more relaxed, less anxious, and overall more healthy.

Dr. Mladen Golubic, an internist doctor at Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Integrative Medicine, states that reoccurring stimulation of the vagus nerve can do more than just relieve anxiety. Stimulation of this large nerve can also help with conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disease, and asthma.

Do you struggle with anxiety? Have you ever practiced regular deep breathing? What were your results? Let us know! We would love to hear from you! Show this to a friend or family member to see if it might help them.

Our content is created to the best of our knowledge, yet it is of general nature and cannot in any way substitute an individual consultation with your doctor. Your health is important to us!