Vagus Nerve Exercises and Devices to Calm Your Nervous System

You cannot always change what is happening around you, but Daisy believes you can change how your body responds to it. She tells of a friend in a very stressful relationship who, three months later, seemed centred and calm even though nothing in her life had changed. Daisy’s explanation is a calmer nervous system, and the nerve she points to is the vagus nerve. This is her set of free practices, plus the devices she mentions for people who need a push.

What is the vagus nerve, and how do you know if yours is weak?

Daisy describes the vagus nerve as the link between your brain, heart, gut and emotions. With a calm nervous system, she says, you respond to situations instead of reacting, and stress stops damaging your body.

Vagal tone is how well this nerve is working. Daisy lists these signs of a weak one:

• A resting heart rate of about 80 beats per minute, or a heart rate that drops slowly after exercise.
• Chronic digestion problems, or feeling full too fast.
• Slow recovery from even minor illness, or high inflammation (CRP) on blood tests.
• Constant anxiety or overthinking.
• Trouble falling or staying asleep, and a “wired but tired” feeling.
• Difficulty bouncing back emotionally after stress.

If you have five or more, Daisy suggests checking your heart rate variability (HRV). This is the small change in timing between heartbeats. She calls it the gold-standard measure of vagal tone: a high HRV means a calm, resilient system, and a low one means a stressed, reactive one. Most fitness trackers measure it, including Apple Watch, Fitbit, Oura Ring and Whoop. For clinical-grade readings she names the Polar H10 chest strap and the Garmin HRM 600. Check it each morning, and if it stays low, make these practices a priority.

Cold therapy for the vagus nerve

Daisy’s first tool is cold. The first shock raises adrenaline, then your body adapts, and she says the shift from stress to calm is your vagal activation.

You do not need an ice bath. Daisy suggests cold packs on the neck, the face and forehead, and behind the ears. You can also dip your whole face in cold water, or take a cold shower.

• Temperature: 7 to 15 degrees C, cold but not freezing.
• Time: 30 seconds to 2 minutes for the face and neck, with breaks.
• When: when you feel anxious, or just before bed.

She says it should feel like discomfort, not distress, so listen to your body. Her tip is to pair it with slow breathing and long exhales at bedtime, for deeper sleep.

Humming breath and long exhales

The second practice is Brahmari pranayama, the humming-bee breath. Sit comfortably. Place your ring and middle fingers on the bridge of the nose, forefingers at the inner corners of the eyes, and press the ear cartilage gently with your thumbs. Breathe in through the nose, then hum as you exhale. Do 5 to 10 rounds, about 3 minutes. Daisy says the vibration stimulates vagal branches in the throat, ears and face.

The third practice is the long exhale. Inhale through the nose for 4 seconds and exhale for 6 to 8 seconds or longer, smoothly and without pauses, for 5 to 10 minutes. Daisy says the vagus nerve responds more to the exhale than the inhale, and she suggests doing this every morning on an empty stomach as your foundation.

Ear, skull and neck massage

Daisy says the auricular branch of the vagus nerve runs through the outer ear, making it an easy access point. Her routine:

1. Make gentle circles in the hollow of each ear, 10 to 15 times, then behind that hollow.
2. Gently stretch each ear up, outward and down, holding 10 to 15 seconds each way.
3. Press thumbs into the soft hollows at the base of the skull and circle gently, 10 to 15 times.
4. Tilt your head and knead the sternocleidomastoid, the long muscle at the side of your neck, for 5 to 10 minutes each side.

She describes this as telling your nervous system that you are safe.

Probiotics and devices

Daisy says the vagus nerve also responds to the gut. She names the strains Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Bifidobacterium infantis, Lactobacillus plantarum and L. helveticus. She prefers food over supplements: sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, kombucha or a traditional mustard oil pickle. For travel or a damaged gut, she says a short course of supplements can make sense. She names Gen One Gen Pro GG Dual, Gut Army and Mebo Tan as Indian options.

For busy days she mentions devices. These are the gammaCore neck stimulator, which she says is not sold in India, the ear-based NeuroPod (also called Neuro Sim) and Vagus Sim, and the neck-worn Pulsetto. She adds that these are not necessary, and that a device simply takes care of consistency.

What research says

Several of these ideas have some research behind them, though mostly small studies. A systematic review of slow breathing, under 10 breaths a minute, found it raises heart rate variability and increases relaxation. A small study of 16 adults found humming breathing (Bhramari) raised HRV about as much as slow-paced breathing. In eight healthy volunteers, cold-water face immersion increased activity of the heart’s vagal (calming) nerve supply.

On devices, a review notes that the gammaCore neck stimulator is FDA-cleared for the acute treatment of pain in episodic cluster headache. That is a specific headache use, not a general calming or anxiety claim. The evidence for the other devices Daisy lists was not checked here.

Daisy’s tips

• Check your HRV first thing every morning, before and after trying a practice.
• Pick one practice and do it consistently. Daisy says even one can bring relief.
• Keep cold gentle and brief. Stop if it feels distressing.
• Be gentle with ear and neck pressure.
• If you have a heart condition or take medicine for blood pressure or anxiety, keep your doctor in the loop before using cold therapy or a device.
• Daisy has a separate video on chronic fatigue, which she links to a stressed nervous system.

Daisy shows every technique in the video above. It takes about 12 minutes.