Many people around the world are suffering from the influx of fear in the mainstream news that has permeated our day to day lives. Wearing a mask everywhere we go means we don’t communicate with strangers with a smile or laughter like we should. We can see this as a complete disaster, or we can realize that this is an opportunity to train our nervous system and come out of this time period stronger than ever.
Vagal nerve tone helps to improve heart rate variability, which means that your heart has the ability to adapt to whatever speed it needs to function depending on what activity you are performing. It means that your body can more quickly switch from sympathetic to parasympathetic mode and is one of the most important biomarkers for cardiovascular health!
Cold Thermogenesis
Splashing cold water on your face and neck stimulates the mammalian dive reflex. This stimulates the trigeminal nerve, sends signals to the brain, and stimulates the vagus nerve, which helps you to relax. This is a great hack for reducing performance anxiety before a big meeting. It also has the added benefit of stabilizing your blood glucose levels when performed in the morning, an stimulating lymphatic flow through the body.
PEMF
In The Yellow Emperor’s Book of Internal Medicine, practitioners have been known to use magnetically resonating stones on the body to treat illness. More recently, astronauts have been using this technology to counteract the stress that the body goes through in space. On earth, we are often inundated with electromagnetic radiation which interrupts how our electrons spin as well as the electromagnetic fields of our brain and heart. Our devices contain extremely short waves, while Pulsed Electromagnetic Therapy utilizes longer waves that resonate with the earth. This can result in reduced pain, inflammation, tissue regeneration, and cellular repair. It is important to recover from both physical and emotional stresses. One of my favorite recovery tools is the Pulsed Electromagnetic Therapy Chakra Mat which includes gemstones, negative ions, far infrared light therapy and Pulsed Electromagnetic Frequencies to calm the nervous system.
Red Light Therapy
Another way of improving HRV and boosting mitochondrial function is Red Light Therapy. This modality of therapy shows promise in improving the prognosis of Parkinson’s disease, regeneration of peripheral nerves, increased circulation and collagen production as well as improving the function of the thyroid. The applications of this therapy are almost ubiquitous as the process of improving mitochondrial function, which are abundant in our hearts and brains can be helpful in so many areas of life. Red light therapy has even been proven to restore function of cardiac stem cells following a heart attack. You can read more about the benefits here: Is it time to Consider Photobiomodulation as a Drug Equivalent?
There are a few ways to use the red light as a therapy. You can purchase the panels for your home and stand naked in front of them, or target specific areas such as thyroid or problem areas with the lights themselves. If you want an all inclusive biohacking mat that you can lay on and incorporate ion therapy, PEMF, red light therapy, gemstones, and infrared heat, the Healthy Line InfraMat Pro is my ideal option!
Toning
Chanting, humming, singing and toning are known to improve vagus nerve function. The vibration of our vocal chords stimulates the trigeminal nerve and thyroid and all the way down to the bladder. As well as being beneficial for the nerve itself, chanting affirmations of gratitude can have a profound impact on the immune and nervous system.
Supplement
Magnesium supplements can help to improve HRV as well as improve sleep, calm the nervous system, and relax the muscles. This supplement from Seeking Health is optimized to contain magnesium malate and glycinate which are readily available for the body as well as a bioavailable form of B6 to improve nerve function.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3863570/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17674028/
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