Cranial Nerve X: The Vagus Nerve
Did you know that the key to your mental health is actually in your stomach?
The longest nerve that originates in the brain is called the vagus nerve. This nerve runs from your brain stem, down your spine, through your chest, to your stomach and branches out on both sides. It communicates crucial information to all your major organ systems.
The vagus nerve is a two-way superhighway communicating both sensory & motor information about the esophagus, trachea, heart, lungs, & digestive tract.
Coincidentally, upper respiratory viruses (*cough* covid-19) can irritate the vagus nerve, which influences all your organ systems. I'll elaborate another day, but, considering everything, now is a stellar time to learn more about the vagus nerve & nourishing it.
So, there are 39 trillion tiny beings in your gut, mostly bacteria, also fungi & viruses. This tummy society are called the microbiome & weighs as much as your brain. We feed the microbiome, and they send messages to the brain.
In a depressed person's tummy, the microbiome isn't diverse enough. This causes the tummy to produce inflammatory chemicals which deplete the stomach's barriers & allows for foreign organisms to enter. Your white blood cells attack these foreigners, exhausting the immune system. A non depressed person's gut is diverse enough (granted their gut bacteria isn’t affected by other factors.)
Thusly, gut bacteria has a lot to do with our neurological health. So much so, that research shows injecting the fecal matter of a person without depression into someone with depression, cures the mental illness.
"Wait, you're telling me I have to put someone else's shit in my body just to be happy?" Well, you can also electrocute the nerve through your chest. Works well for epilepsy too.
While I find it fascinating, I'm not encouraging you to try the poop thing. You can heal your vagus nerve by increasing prebiotics (onion, garlic, bananas, wine, oily fish, oats; better eaten on an empty stomach) and probiotics (yogurt pickles, kombucha) in your diet, getting 8 hours of sleep on average, & regular light exercise. {Probiotics have live bacteria which may pose a threat to those immunocompromised.}
Spiritually, we can interpret the vagus nerve to connect our minds, heart, & gut. The mind correlates to logic & reason, the heart correlates with love & compassion, while the gut correlates with passion & willpower.
When your vagus nerve is stimulated, your body is at ease. Your energy is able to flow through your body easily. Your breathing is deep & rejuvenating instead of shallow. Your heart beats calmly, instead of rapidly. Your stomach digests quickly to give your body the energy it needs, instead of leaving you sluggish after meals.
Everyone can benefit from taking more intentional care of their bodies. Those of you who's bodies have endured significant trauma, through chronic ailments or environmental stimulants, will see an improvement in symptoms. People who have difficulty falling asleep could remedy this by triggering their body's rest response.
How do you all feel about the vagus nerve? Did you learn anything about yourself?
