What Is the Vagus Nerve? (And Why It’s Key to Healing Anxiety and Depression)

If your mental and physical health has felt like a game of Whack-a-Mole—where you get control of one symptom only to have another pop up—there’s a good chance your vagus nerve is the common thread connecting these seemingly unrelated issues. This cranial nerve is gaining attention in the wellness world for a reason, in fact I wrote a whole book about it!

This wandering nerve holds the key to understanding and healing many of the symptoms associated with anxiety and depression. Let’s explore what this nerve is and why it matters on your healing journey.

Meet Your Mind-Body Superhighway

It is the main component of your parasympathetic nervous system (aka regulation) and oversees many important bodily functions. It plays a role in stress, mood, immune response, digestion, heart rate, and several other autonomic functions.

This is crucial to understand: when we talk about the “mind-body connection,” we’re largely talking about the vagus nerve. And the fact that most of the conversation flows from body to brain helps explain why top-down approaches like cognitive therapy or mindset work sometimes fall short for people struggling with anxiety and depression.

The Vagus Nerve and Your Nervous System States

To understand the vagus nerve’s role in anxiety and depression, we need to look at how it functions within your autonomic nervous system (ANS)—the system that controls your unconscious bodily functions.

Your vagus nerve makes up about 75% of your parasympathetic nervous system, often called your “rest and digest” state. This is your regulated, calm state where you feel safe, present, and capable. On the nervous system ladder we discussed in our previous blog, this is the “green zone” at the top.

When functioning optimally, your vagus nerve helps you:

• Return to calm after stressful situations
• Digest food properly
• Maintain a steady heartbeat
• Support healthy immune function
• Regulate emotions effectively
• Connect socially with others

However, when your vagus nerve isn’t functioning optimally—when you have what’s called “low vagal tone”—you may experience:

• Persistent anxiety or depression
• Digestive issues like IBS
• Heart palpitations or irregular heartbeat
• Difficulty regulating emotions
• Chronic inflammation
• Autoimmune conditions
• Sleep disorders

This connection between vagal tone and mental health is supported by research showing that people with anxiety and depression often have measurably lower vagal tone than those without these conditions.

Measuring Vagal Tone

The health of your vagus nerve is measured by something called “vagal tone.” Think of it like muscle tone—high vagal tone means your vagus nerve is strong and functioning well, while low vagal tone indicates weaker functioning.

The most common objective measure of vagal tone is heart rate variability (HRV)—the variation in time between consecutive heartbeats. Higher HRV correlates with higher vagal tone and better overall health. Many wearable devices like the Oura Ring, Apple Watch, or Fitbit can track your HRV, giving you consumer-level insights into your nervous system’s functioning. Generally, a higher HRV, or an HRV that shows an upward trend with consistent practice, is considered a positive sign of improving vagal tone.

Beyond HRV, you can also assess vagal tone through symptom clusters. If you’re experiencing anxiety, depression, digestive issues, sleep problems, and chronic pain simultaneously, low vagal tone might be the common denominator.

What Lowers Vagal Tone?

Several factors can contribute to low vagal tone:

1. Chronic stress: When you’re constantly in “fight or flight” mode, your sympathetic nervous system dominates, suppressing vagal tone.
2. Trauma: Past trauma, including childhood experiences, can lead to lasting alterations in vagal functioning.
3. Inflammatory lifestyle: Poor sleep, sedentary behavior, and inflammatory diets negatively impact vagal tone.
4. Environmental factors: Toxin exposure, chronic noise, and even poor posture can affect vagal function.
5. Early life experiences: Research suggests that maternal stress during pregnancy and early childhood experiences shape vagal development.

The good news? Vagal tone is highly adaptable. Just as you can strengthen a muscle through consistent exercise, you can improve vagal tone through specific practices.

Vagal Toning: Building Your Regulation Capacity

Improving vagal tone happens through what I call “regulation reps”—specific exercises that activate your vagus nerve and, over time, strengthen its function.

Here are some simple practices that can help activate and strengthen your vagus nerve:

1. Cold exposure: Brief cold showers or splashing cold water on your face stimulates the vagus nerve.
2. Diaphragmatic breathing: Slow, deep belly breaths activate vagal pathways.
3. Humming, singing, or gargling: The vagus nerve runs through your throat area, so vibration here stimulates it directly.
4. Gentle ear or neck massage: The vagus nerve has branches near the skin surface in these areas.
5. Gut health improvements: Since the vagus nerve connects extensively with your digestive system, gut-supporting practices can improve vagal tone.
6. Exercise and movement: Regular physical activity promotes vagal tone.
7. Morning sunlight: Natural light exposure helps regulate your nervous system.

The key is consistency—just as one workout won’t build muscle, one cold shower won’t transform your vagal tone. It’s the accumulation of these practices over time that creates lasting change.

Beyond “Vagus Nerve Hacks”

While these practices are powerful, they work best as part of a comprehensive approach to nervous system regulation. There is no “hacking” your way to healing. Real transformation comes from:

1. Truly understanding your nervous system’s unique states and signals.
2. Proactively addressing foundational lifestyle factors like sleep, nutrition, movement, and stress management.
3. Crafting a personalized toolkit of vagal toning practices that genuinely resonate with your system.
4. Committing to consistency, knowing that small, regular “regulation reps” compound over time to build lasting resilience.

As you improve your vagal tone, you’ll likely notice benefits extending far beyond anxiety and depression. Many clients report improvements in digestion, energy levels, sleep quality, and even seemingly unrelated health conditions.

Key Vagus Nerve Insights at a Glance:

• Mind-Body Messenger: Your vagus nerve is a primary communication channel, with about 80% of signals traveling from your body to your brain, deeply influencing your mental state.  
• Tone is Key: Healthy “vagal tone” is linked to better stress resilience and emotional regulation. Low vagal tone is often seen in anxiety and depression.  
• You Can Improve It: Simple, consistent practices (“regulation reps”) like deep breathing, cold exposure, and humming can strengthen your vagal tone over time.
• Holistic Healing: While practices are vital, lasting improvement comes from a comprehensive approach that includes lifestyle adjustments and consistent effort, not just isolated “hacks.”

Your Next Steps

If you’re interested in exploring how vagal toning might help your anxiety or depression, here are some ways to begin:

1. Begin with Curious Awareness: Gently start noticing when you feel dysregulated versus calm throughout your day. This simple act of noticing is a powerful first step in understanding your nervous system.
2. Pick One Small Practice to Start: You don’t need to do everything at once! Choose one vagal toning exercise from the list above that feels appealing and accessible, and aim to incorporate it into your daily routine for a week.
3. Observe the Shifts (Optional Tracking): If you use a wearable that tracks HRV, you might observe its trends over time. More importantly, simply note any changes—however small—in your symptoms, mood, energy levels, or overall sense of well-being.  
4. Embrace Patience & Persistence: Remember, improving vagal tone and nervous system regulation is a journey, not an overnight fix. Celebrate your efforts and any small progress you notice along the way.

For a deeper understanding of the vagus nerve and how to work with it for healing anxiety and depression, you might be interested in my book, “Healing Through the Vagus Nerve,” which provides a comprehensive guide along with practical exercises.

Want more personalized support in healing anxiety & depression through a nervous system lens?

• Access guided practices, resources, and community for daily vagal toning and regulation in the Regulated Living Membership.

• Get personalized, 1:1 support to heal your nervous system and improve vagal tone with our RESTORE Coaching Program.

---

This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or qualified mental health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.