How do we increase vagal tone?

In the article above, vagal tone was increased through a device that stimulated the vagus nerve. The good news is that you have access to this on your own, but it does require regular practice. To some degree, you are genetically predisposed to varying levels of vagal tone, but this still doesn’t mean that you can’t change it. Here are some ways to tone the vagus nerve:

Slow, rhythmic, diaphragmatic breathing. Breathing from your diaphragm, rather than shallowly from the top of the lungs stimulates and tones the vagus nerve.

Humming. Since the vagus nerve is connected to the vocal cords, humming mechanically stimulates it. You can hum a song, or even better repeat the sound ‘OM’.

Speaking. Similarly speaking is helpful for vagal tone, due to the connection to the vocal cords.

Washing your face with cold water. The mechanism here is not known, but cold water on your face stimulates the vagus nerve.

Meditation, especially loving kindness meditation which promotes feelings of goodwill towards yourself and others. A 2010 study by Barbara Fredrickson and Bethany Kik found that increasing positive emotions led to increased social closeness, and an improvement in vagal tone.

Balancing the gut microbiome. The presence of healthy bacteria in the gut creates a positive feedback loop through the vagus nerve, increasing its tone.

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So once again science is at the heart of millennia old “woo” traditions in an extremely straight forward manner. AFAIC, the anti-woo brigade are as bad as climate sceptics and the pitifully inept research of those who seek to discount biblical testimony of historical record. Not sure which one has the worst effect on collective knowledge but I know climate scepticism produces significant counter-data in community reflex, so it can only be the best example of the lot really.