Gut-brain health is crucial to happiness, and one way to improve it is to stimulate the vagus nerve, which is the connection between the gut and brain.
Tune into this short episode to discover five ways of stimulating your vagus nerve, especially before eating, to improve your gut- brain health and achieve more vibrant well-being.
In the previous episode, Dana Chapman, nutritional therapist explained how our gut brain health works, how it contributes to our happiness, and it is just incredible to know that our happiness starts in our gut.
And of course, she also shared lots of practical advice of how we can improve the gut brain connection. And as always, it's time for me to put her advice into action. So, join me.
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And research shows that stress blocks signals sent through the vagus nerve leading to gastric issues and decreased level of happiness. So, this is why stimulating the vagus nerve, especially before eating can promote not only better digestion, but also much more vibrant wellbeing and increased happiness.
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So, I really encourage you to join me on this happiness challenge in testing simple ways of stimulating the vagus nerve before meals for better digestion and wellbeing. I specifically will be testing three methods. So, first method, breathing exercises. So debriefing techniques, known as belly breathing, activate the vagus nerve and promote a sense of relaxation.
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A second method I'll be trying, which was suggested by Dana in the previous episode, is about singing and chanting. Now, I'm really bad at singing, so I'm not going to go for that. But I'm going to try a little bit of humming or chanting. Why is this important? Because engaging in activities that involve controlled vocalization, such as singing, chanting, humming, can stimulate the vagus nerve and promote that relaxation.
So, I'm going to, again, incorporate a few minutes of humming just before I sit down to my meal. I do my breathing exercises. I do a little bit of humming to really think whether that helps me to stimulate that vagus nerve for that vibrant wellbeing.
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Again, sometimes I'm definitely guilty of eating on autopilot. I eat quickly. I really don't concentrate on every bite I'm taking. So, what I'm trying to do during the meal, I'll be trying to fully engage in the act of eating, of really savouring each bite so that I can activate the vagus nerve and promote that optimal digestion.
And again, chewing slowly and mindfully. And again, I'm going to give it a really good try at chewing slowly and mindfully to signal to my body that, well, it's time to digest, it's time to relax and everything is fine. And now we're concentrating on that specific meal in front of us.
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Because often what's the simplest thing in life is the most impactful one. And because it's so simple, we may miss it. We may miss it every single day. So, I do hope that you still join me on this happiness challenge.
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First one: gargling with water can stimulate vagus nerve.
As the throat muscles involved are connected to this crucial nerve, so you can simply take a mouthful of water and gargle for 30 seconds to one minute before spitting it out, and you can repeat it maybe two more times before your meal, so that you activate the vagus nerve and really enhance that digestive function.
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Thank you so much for listening. I wish you a fun time when experimenting with different methods of stimulating your vagus nerve to improve your gut brain health. And again, I'm sure that your gut will thank you. So, remember to keep in touch. Let me know how you're getting on. Join the Happiness Challenge Newsletter on LinkedIn. I'll share what I have learned at the end of the month.
So, see you then. And as always, I dare you to be happy. Bye!
