V is for...

Is your naturopath telling you to eat lollies?

*My spicy brain makes me writes these for the dopamine hits I get from external validation. If you’re enjoying reading this can you press like x Catie

V is for Vagus Nerve

The vagus nerve is the longest nerve in your body. It runs from your brainstem all the way down through your throat, heart, lungs, and gut, connecting your brain to almost every major organ. It is the key component of the parasympathetic nervous system, the rest and digest system, and it regulates heart rate, digestion, immune response, inflammation, and emotional regulation.

When your vagal tone is high, you are calm, focused, and resilient. When it is low, you are stuck in fight or flight, reactive, anxious, and exhausted. The good news is that you can activate it deliberately. And some of the best ways to do it require nothing more than a balloon, a couple of sour gummie worms or a question about marshmallows.

Here are five that work for worried kids and anxious adults alike.

Blow up a balloon. Forced exhalation against resistance is one of the fastest vagal activators there is. It engages the same mechanism as a long slow exhale but amplifies the effect through pressure. Blowing bubbles works too. So does blowing through a straw.

Eat something sour. Sour gummy bears, a wedge of lemon, apple cider vinegar, a sour candy. Sour tastes activate specialised receptors at the back of the tongue and throat that are directly supplied by the vagus nerve, triggering an immediate parasympathetic response. It is why digestive bitters have been used before meals for centuries. I always fly with a bag of sour gummy worms.

Cold water on the face. Splash ice cold water on your face or run cold water on the back of your neck. It activates the dive reflex, one of the most powerful and immediate vagal triggers the body has. Cortisol drops within seconds. For kids who are mid-meltdown, a cold wet cloth on the face or wrists works beautifully.

Hum. The vagus nerve connects directly to the vocal cords, so humming creates vibrations that stimulate it immediately. Thirty seconds of humming, singing, or even gargling with water is enough to feel a shift. Silly sounds count. Loud car singing is our go to.

The smell game. This one is a personal favourite for nervous kids. Ask them if they can smell something that isn’t there. Can you smell toasted marshmallows? Is someone having a barbecue? Can you smell curry? What you are doing is pulling their full attention into the present moment through the olfactory system, which interrupts the anxiety loop instantly. It is distraction, but it is also sensory grounding, and it works because curiosity and threat cannot fully occupy the brain at the same time. Research has found that vagus nerve stimulation increases activity in the olfactory bulbs, suggesting smell and vagal activation are deeply connected.

Consider these little hacks your nervous systems off-switch.

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