Control Your Vagus Nerve to Improve Mood, Alertness & Neuroplasticity

I just came here to say it's 300 episodes Over the course of 5 years of hard work and tireless effort by Dr. Andrew, Huberman, and his team.

To anyone who's suffering depression, anxiety, insomnia and other mental health problems, you are not alone. I feel you. You are so brave. You are doing so well. I'm proud of you. I'm sending you a virtual hug ❤ For me, it wasn’t therapy or meds that helped the most — it was reconnecting with myself. I started using the exercises in Shift Your Mind by Alexander Brooks, and it made me feel human again. The anxiety that used to control my whole day barely shows up now! 🙏❤

We are blessed to be this age of earth where we have Youtube & Dr Huberman

If calmness had a playlist, your voice would be track one. Thanks for giving the vagus nerve the attention it deserves and for making neuroscience strangely addictive

Actions 1. Do a “physiological sigh” — take two deep inhales through your nose (one long, one short), then a long exhale through your mouth. This activates calming pathways in the vagus nerve, helping you quickly reduce anxiety and stress. 2. Practice slow, extended exhales several times a day - This strengthens your vagus nerve’s ability to regulate heart rate and stress, improving heart rate variability (HRV), a marker of resilience and longevity. 3. Do light leg or core movement (e.g., a short walk or a few squats) when you feel sluggish - This stimulates the vagus nerve via adrenaline release, increasing brain alertness and motivation to move. 4. Gently massage behind your ears or inside your outer ear with your fingers - Activates a minor branch of the vagus nerve that can promote a subtle calming effect. Generated by SpaceTu. Link in Bio.

The buried lead here is the extraordinary amount of courage and self-restraint it took Dr. Huberman not to subtitle this episode "What Happens in Vagus." we are all grateful.

After 168 days of waiting, the solo episode drought is finally over! Thank you for the insights, Dr. Huberman — and you’re welcome for my unwavering interest in science.

Yoga teacher here....Kundalini Yoga. I was given extensive education about the vagus nerve during year long training in 2013. Its brilliant to see this topic being cover in a more "mainstream" context.

Man I miss the solo episodes, they are awesome

I went to thr ER because I was laying down and my heart suddenly started pounding out of my chest so fast that I couldn't even count the beats from my pulse. Once the doc came in, he had me do a vagal maneuver i believe called the reverse valsalva maneuver which lowered my heart rate. He had me do it one more time and said "Okay, good that got you down to 140." I said "DOWN to 140??? What was it at before?!" 240 BPM. That visit I was diagnosed with Supraventricular tachycardia originating in the AV node. That's when I became fascinated with the vagus nerve and started doing my own research. This episode included some things I hadn't learned yet and was fun to listen to. Thank you!!