WEBVTT - Why is everyone obsessed with the vagus nerve?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Healthy Ish. Thank you for joining us today

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<v Speaker 1>on this Body and Soul podcast. I hope you are

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<v Speaker 1>feeling healthy ish. Of course I am Felicity Harley. Is

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<v Speaker 1>it just me or is everyone talking about the vagus

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<v Speaker 1>nerve right now? Well, to shed some light on the

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<v Speaker 1>crucierrole it plays in regulating our physiology and emotions, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>joined via online studio by physiotherapist and ted X speaker

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<v Speaker 1>Jessica Maguire Fyi. Her new book is called The Nervous

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<v Speaker 1>System Reset. After listening to this one listening to our

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<v Speaker 1>other sister podcast, Extra Healthy Ish, where Jessica shares how

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<v Speaker 1>we can get better at regulating our nervous system. You

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<v Speaker 1>can search for Extra Healthy Ish wherever you get your podcasts. Jessica,

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<v Speaker 1>thank you for coming on healthy Ish today. How are you.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm well, Felicity, Thank you so much for having me.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and a new book. Congratulations. How does it feel

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<v Speaker 1>you always good?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it's a very exciting, particularly being my first book,

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<v Speaker 2>so it's all new to me. But yes, very much

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<v Speaker 2>enjoying the whole process.

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<v Speaker 1>Now. When I did see, well something on the cover

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<v Speaker 1>of your book, the vagus Nerve, I just thought I

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<v Speaker 1>am saying this on social media. In the media, everyone's

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<v Speaker 1>talking about it. Why we're so obsessed with the vagus nerve.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it's an interesting time with this coming into mainstream.

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<v Speaker 2>So I think it's really great that this awareness is

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<v Speaker 2>coming in because we used to just think of our

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<v Speaker 2>nervous system, particularly this autonomic nervous system, keeping us safe.

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<v Speaker 2>It was like a really simple two branch system of

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<v Speaker 2>the sympathetic and the parasympathetic, where you know, the sympathetic

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<v Speaker 2>was like the accelerator and a car took us in

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<v Speaker 2>a fight or flight, and the parasympathetic was like the break,

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<v Speaker 2>we'll rest and digest and slowed us down. But what

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<v Speaker 2>we now know is that it's not actually a big

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<v Speaker 2>enough picture, so it's a little bit outdated. And we

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<v Speaker 2>know that the power sympathetic branch, there's actually two breaks.

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<v Speaker 2>And this has to do with the two parts of

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<v Speaker 2>the vegas nerve. So one part of the vegas nerve

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<v Speaker 2>that runs from our brain to our heart slows us

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<v Speaker 2>down and regulates us. This is both our physiology and

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<v Speaker 2>our emotions changing and the other part can take us

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<v Speaker 2>down into a shutdown. And so what's interesting is we

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<v Speaker 2>are bringing this into mainstream. You know, awareness that this

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<v Speaker 2>is different. I think that's great, particularly from a trauma

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<v Speaker 2>informed point of view, and that's why it's taken off.

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<v Speaker 2>But we are also seeing a lot on how we

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<v Speaker 2>hack this vegas nerve and quick things we can do

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<v Speaker 2>for a fix, which you know, it can in some

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<v Speaker 2>ways be really helpful, but it may also miss the

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<v Speaker 2>complexities of the vegus nerve and all the different parts

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<v Speaker 2>of it, because I think it's more like an ecosystem

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<v Speaker 2>rather than just one nerve we can hack.

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<v Speaker 1>That's a really great description because often you will see

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<v Speaker 1>hack your vegas nerve and do this, and do that,

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<v Speaker 1>and you can you can calm yourself in three seconds flat.

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<v Speaker 1>In some ways, you're right, it's good because it's getting

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<v Speaker 1>the message out there, but in other ways it's it's

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<v Speaker 1>kind of well, there's a few falsehoods around it. Why

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<v Speaker 1>is it important for our health talk to us about this?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, So, you know, it's interesting. When I was at

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<v Speaker 2>university a long long time ago, we sort of compartmentalized

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<v Speaker 2>all the systems, you know, we broke up the body

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<v Speaker 2>and brain. And even as I worked as a physiotherapist

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<v Speaker 2>and was really identifying myself as somebody that worked on

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<v Speaker 2>the body, but what I now know was a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of the things I was doing was also working on

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<v Speaker 2>the brain indirectly from working through the body. And so

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<v Speaker 2>the vegus nerve is this very much real connection between

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<v Speaker 2>our brain and body, and the way that the vegus

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<v Speaker 2>nerve is sending messages will determine the state of our

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<v Speaker 2>nervous system that we move into. So eighty percent of

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<v Speaker 2>its fibers are running from the body up to the brain,

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<v Speaker 2>and it's sending information about how we are, if we're

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<v Speaker 2>safe or not. But also these same messages are really

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<v Speaker 2>important for keeping balance between our systems. So for instance,

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<v Speaker 2>this is a really simple example, but let's say we

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<v Speaker 2>feel thirsty and that message is sent up to the brain,

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<v Speaker 2>then we might go and get a drink and we

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<v Speaker 2>reregulate that system or our hydration. The same for hunger.

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<v Speaker 2>But this can also be with things that we're not

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<v Speaker 2>aware of, like blood pressure, pH balance, that sort of thing.

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<v Speaker 2>But the branches of the vegas nerve that are running

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<v Speaker 2>from the brain back down to our organs are actually

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<v Speaker 2>regulating our health. So there's a really important role with

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<v Speaker 2>the branches to our heart to do with cardiovascular health.

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<v Speaker 2>There's branches to our gut that helped to regulate the

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<v Speaker 2>digestive system, and the vegus nerve plays a really important

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<v Speaker 2>role in the immune system with inflammation too. So we

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<v Speaker 2>can't necessarily separate the brain and body. We can't separate

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<v Speaker 2>our emotions from our physiology. And this is where physical

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<v Speaker 2>and emotional health really intersect. And I think this is

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<v Speaker 2>a really exciting time because we've heard for so long, well,

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<v Speaker 2>stress is bad, but what we're really seeing is it's

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<v Speaker 2>not necessarily that stress is bad. You know, if we

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<v Speaker 2>mobilize energy to face a demand and we recover from it,

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<v Speaker 2>that's fantastic. We can do that, We can meet challenges.

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<v Speaker 2>But it's the way our vagus nerve releases and then

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<v Speaker 2>re engages to change our physiology to meet what's happening

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<v Speaker 2>in front of us accurately and from what's happened in

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<v Speaker 2>our past. We might respond with too much energy or

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<v Speaker 2>mobilization in our system, which I've talked about in the

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<v Speaker 2>book as being in the too hot state, or we

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<v Speaker 2>might find ourselves responding with not enough and a little

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<v Speaker 2>bit more of a collapse and an apathy, which I

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<v Speaker 2>wrote as being in the too cold state in the book.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, I just think when you're talking about you

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<v Speaker 1>actually described it so well. It's so good to look

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<v Speaker 1>at a visual of it as well, isn't it. I

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<v Speaker 1>always come back to the visual of the vagus nerve

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<v Speaker 1>because it just helps you get your head around well,

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<v Speaker 1>how it affects every as you say, organ and every

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<v Speaker 1>body part and filters back into the brain. So how

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<v Speaker 1>do you describe it? Do you describe it controlling it,

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<v Speaker 1>balancing it, tuning in like how can we get better

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<v Speaker 1>at toning it? So to speak.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it's a great question. And I think when you

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<v Speaker 2>talked about before, are we hearing a lot about hacking it.

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<v Speaker 2>We can't really hack it if we want to look

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<v Speaker 2>at building more regulation in our nervous system, or what

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<v Speaker 2>we might say is building vaguel tone. So you know,

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<v Speaker 2>we can say, well, just like a muscle that's healthy

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<v Speaker 2>and strong has good tone, we say that the vegus

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<v Speaker 2>nerve has good vaguel tone. And this is particularly the

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<v Speaker 2>branch that we look at. It runs from the brain stem.

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<v Speaker 2>So if you put your hand on the back of

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<v Speaker 2>your head, run it down to where that bony ridges,

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<v Speaker 2>and you went in from there, that's your brain stem

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<v Speaker 2>and then it goes down to the heart this particular branch.

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<v Speaker 2>So that connection there of the vegus nerve acts like

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<v Speaker 2>a break. So if you were riding a bicycle down

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<v Speaker 2>a hill, you keep a little bit of that break,

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<v Speaker 2>engage with your fingertips so you didn't go too fast,

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<v Speaker 2>And that is technically what the vegus nerve is always

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<v Speaker 2>doing to us. So if that wasn't there, our heart

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<v Speaker 2>rate at rest would be about ninety beats per minute,

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<v Speaker 2>but for most adults, because of that, yep, it's like

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<v Speaker 2>around seventy. So when we want to meet a challenge,

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<v Speaker 2>if we've got healthy vagel tone, well actually just relax

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<v Speaker 2>the break a little bit. So imagine we're like riding downhill.

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<v Speaker 2>We relax the break a little bit, we go a

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<v Speaker 2>bit faster, and this might be now while we're talking,

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<v Speaker 2>because I love talking about this so much, I get

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<v Speaker 2>so passionate, and I feel the excitement and mobilizing energy.

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<v Speaker 2>But then afterwards that break would re engage and I

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<v Speaker 2>would slow my physiog back down. That's what happens when

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<v Speaker 2>we've got healthy vaguel tone. But what happens if we

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<v Speaker 2>don't necessarily have healthy vaguel tone because of periods of

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<v Speaker 2>chronic and traumatic stress. Instead of just relaxing that break

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<v Speaker 2>a little bit, it comes off completely and it's like

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<v Speaker 2>we find ourselves barreling downhill too fast. And this is

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<v Speaker 2>really what anxiety is. This is where we move into

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<v Speaker 2>fight or flight. We might have anger, rage, reactivity, and

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<v Speaker 2>we feel that like energy come up and we respond

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<v Speaker 2>in a way where we say, I wish I didn't

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<v Speaker 2>say that, do that. You know, we have that regret

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<v Speaker 2>later on. So the good news is we can actually

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<v Speaker 2>fine tune or build this vaguel tone through what we do.

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<v Speaker 2>And that's not necessarily through hacks. It's more like we

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<v Speaker 2>can do daily things that help, but it's actually more

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<v Speaker 2>what we do in the heat of the moment, and

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<v Speaker 2>we teach our brain and our nervous system how to

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<v Speaker 2>respond in a new way because we think like they're

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<v Speaker 2>passive taking in information, but they're actually reshaping themselves through

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<v Speaker 2>everything we experience. So that's where we lean into neuroplasticity,

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<v Speaker 2>or how the brain and nervous system change.

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<v Speaker 1>Jessica, thank you for coming on healthy.

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<v Speaker 2>Ish, thank you for liciting.

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<v Speaker 1>Well go by Jessica's excellent advice and toning your vagus

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<v Speaker 1>nerve cannot be done in three easy hacks from TikTok No.

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<v Speaker 1>It is a continuous journey throughout your life and if

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<v Speaker 1>you want to read some more expert information on it,

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<v Speaker 1>grab it Jessica's new book. It is called The Nervous

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<v Speaker 1>System Reset and it is out now. If you did

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<v Speaker 1>enjoy this chat, tell us, rate and review this podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also subscribe anything else said to body andsoul

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<v Speaker 1>dot com DOTU for US and socials orb Our print

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<v Speaker 1>edition which is out in your local Sunday paper and

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<v Speaker 1>until tomorrow. Stay healthy ish