The vagus nerve is the longest nerve in the body. It starts at the base of the brain and travels down the neck on both sides of the body (behind the earlobe on the mastoid bone), circles the digestive system, and connects directly to every organ. It serves as the master controller of the immune cells, organs, and stem cells along with our mood, digestion, memory, cognitive function, blood pressure, and many other aspects of our health. It connects with a range of nerves that are involved in speech, eye contact, facial expressions and even our ability to tune in to other people’s voices.
‘Vagus’ is Latin for ‘wandering’ and as the name implies, the vagus nerve travels through the body, networking the brain with every organ of digestion along with the lungs, heart, spleen, intestines, liver and kidneys. The words vagabond, vague, and vagrant are all derived from the same Latin root.
In 1921, Otto Loewi, a German physiologist, discovered that stimulating the vagus nerve caused a reduction in heart rate by triggering the release of a substance he coined vagusstoff (German for "vagus substance”). The “vagus substance” was later identified as acetylcholine and became the first neurotransmitter ever identified by scientists.
In the brain, it helps control anxiety and depression.
In the gut, it increases stomach acidity, digestive juices, and gut flow.
In the heart, it controls heart rate variability, heart rate, and blood pressure.
In the liver and pancreas, it helps controls glucose store and balance.
In the gallbladder, it helps release bile, which can help you get rid of toxins and break down fat.
When it’s not working right, it can cause brain fog, neurotransmitter imbalances, digestive disorders, and more.
Some more facts about the vagus nerve:
It is intimately involved in managing sympathetic/parasympathetic balance in the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The vagus nerve provides 75% of all parasympathetic outflow. When the brain triggers parasympathetic activation, the vagus nerve carries the messages to the heart (decreasing the heart rate and blood pressure), to the lungs (to constrict the respiratory passageways), to every organ in the digestive system (to increase motility and blood flow to the digestive tract, to promote defecation), to the kidneys and bladder (to promote urination) and to reproductive organs (to aid in sexual arousal).
It regulates the muscle movement necessary to keep you breathing. The brain communicates with the diaphragm via the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from the vagus nerve to keep you breathing. If the vagus nerve stops releasing acetylcholine, you will stop breathing.
It helps decrease inflammation. About 15 years ago, neurosurgeon Kevin Tracey and his colleagues found that a tiny amount of an anti-inflammatory drug in rats’ brains blocked the production of an inflammatory molecule in the liver and spleen. The researchers began cutting nerves one at a time to find the ones responsible for transmitting the anti-inflammatory signal from the brain to the body. Later they discovered that stimulating undamaged vagus fibers also had anti-inflammatory effects in animals (without the drug), which they attributed to the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine by the vagus nerve.
It helps improve your mood. Research shows that stimulation of the vagus nerve can be an effective treatment for chronic depression that has failed to respond to other treatments.
It is essential to fear management. Remember that “gut instinct” that tells you when something isn’t right? It turns out that the vagus nerve plays a major role in that. The signals from your gut get sent to the brain via the vagus nerve, and the signals from the brain travel back to the gut, forming a feedback loop. A healthy functioning of the vagus nerve helps us bounce back from stressful situations and overcome fear conditioning.
It plays a role in learning and memory. Stimulation of the vagus nerve might be able to speed up the process by which people with PTSD can learn to re-associate a non-threatening stimulus which triggers anxiety with a neutral and non-traumatic experience.” It can also help with healing sexual stress and trauma.
A correlation exists between malabsorption of nutrients and an infection of the vagus nerve. If the parasympathetic state isn’t triggered, insufficient stomach acid is released and nutrients are not properly broken down and assimilated. For example, proteins are not split or properly absorbed in sufficient amounts. Not enough bile flow prevents the absorption of fat soluble vitamins. If the excretion of pancreatic enzymes is insufficient, food is not digested properly, and this leads to the growth of pathogenic microbes further down in the colon.
Essential Oils to Detoxify the Vagus Nerve
Parasympathetic™ Apply behind one or both ears .
Lymph™ Apply around the sides of the neck to relieve congestion, improve drainage and reduce brain inflammation.
Liver™ Apply directly over the liver (right side of the body, under the breast).
Kidney Support™ Apply over the kidneys on the back of the body.
Gallbladder™ Apply on the right side of the body under the bra under-wire or along and slightly under the right rib cage.
To use: Essential oils can be used by inhalation or be applied topically behind the earlobe on the mastoid bone. To apply, warm the essential oil by holding or rolling the bottle in your hands for several minutes. When ready, place several drops on your fingers and starting at your clavicle (collar bone), slowly massage the oil in on the left side of your neck using an upward motion. Do this until you reach the top of your neck. Then repeat the process on the right side.
Other essential oils most commonly used to support the vagus nerve according to the National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy include: Clary sage, Cypress, Eucalyptus, Fennel, Geranium, Ginger, Helichrysum, Lavender, Lemon, Lemongrass, Mandarin, Neroli, Patchouli, Peppermint, Roman chamomile, Rose, Rosemary, Tea tree, Vetiver, Ylang ylang.
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