Create Peaceful Eating Experiences with Vagus Nerve Stimulation

In the process of healing years and years of digestive issues, I became fascinated with the brain in our gut also known as the enteric nervous system or ENS for short. The ENS consists of the esophagus, stomach, small intestines, and large intestines, and contains 100 million neurons within its walls, which, from esophagus to anus, measures about nine meters! The gut brain communicates with the head brain through the vagus nerve.

I first learned of the vagus nerve when I was researching for my published thesis, Cultivating a Relationship with the Gut Brain. The vagus nerve runs through our intestines, stomach, up into our lungs, heart, throat, esophagus, and into our brain. You can think of the vagus nerve as the highway of communication between the gut brain and the head brain. The vagus nerve plays a role in our Parasympathetic Nervous System aka our relaxation and rest and digest response. So if we have experienced a trauma or are processing wounds or even an increase in stress, this can affect our digestion and ability to assimilate any food with ease.

You could be eating the "healthiest" foods in the world but…

If you're eating them in a stress response, ​digestion will shut down where it feels harder to assess our hunger and fullness cues leading to less satisfying meals. The body must feel relaxed and safe for satiating eating experiences to happen.​ ​Lack of satiating eating experiences can lead us to overeat, binge, or self soothe with food because of the lack of pleasure we're receiving when we eat to fulfill our physical hungers. ​The more relaxed and safe we feel while eating, the more connected we become where we can notice the satisfaction and support we're receiving from our food. When our eating experiences are deeply satiating, that can trickle into other areas of our day. When we leave a meal feeling physically nourished and stable, it can be that much easier to feel present with our family and friends and in our activities. Self presence satiates our emotional hunger for connection.

So how do we move our body into the parasympathetic nervous system when we eat?

By stimulating the vagus nerve! Engaging in certain actions before and after you eat can indirectly stimulate the vagus nerve for a more relaxed, Somatic Eating© experience. Here are 5 tools you can utilize before and after eating to stimulate your vagus nerve, optimize your digestion, and support your body in feeling safe while you eat.

1. Deep belly breathing

Slow abdominal breathing reduces the fight or flight response and stimulates the relaxation response thus toning the vagus nerve. You can place your hands on your belly and inhale on a count of 5, hold for a second, and then exhale on a count of 10. You can do this for ​3-5​ rounds and observe the gentle rocking of your hands moving up and down as your belly expands and contracts.

2. Singing, Humming, Chanting, Gargling

The vagus nerve passes the vocal cords so humming mechanically stimulates it. You can put on some music and hum or sing to your favorite song. You can take a sip of water before your meal and gargle it before swallowing.

3. Wash your face with cold water

Research has found cold stimulation can activate the parasympathetic nervous system. You can splash your face with cold water before you sit down to eat​ or after your meal to transition out of your eating experience in a refreshing way​.

4. Meditation and yoga

These mindful practices can decrease our fight or flight response and increase vagal tone. ​Before or after your meal you can lie down on the floor, draw your knees into your chest and then drop them to the right as you open your arms into a T-shape. You can keep your head straight looking up at the ceiling or turn your face to the left.​​ Twists can promote peristalsis enhancing digestion. You can also experiment with taking a few minutes before or after your meal to sit with your eyes closed and just focus on your breath and relaxing every muscle of your body.

​5. ​Laughing

William James​ once said, "We don’t laugh because we’re happy. We’re happy because we laugh.”​​ Laughter makes us breathe into our belly, ​​moving us into our parasympathetic nervous system, and toning our vagus nerve. ​​You can experiment with ​watching funny cat videos, listen to a comedian, or even just start randomly laughing with someone you love. Laughter is contagious! ​

You can play before and after your meals with some of these vagus nerve stimulation tools and then observe your digestion and your mood in between your Somatic Eating© experiences to discover which of these tools also resonates with your unique body and supports you in feeling how you want to feel throughout your day.