Vagus Nerve Exercises That Worked for Me

I’m an etymology nerd, so I loved discovering that the word “vagus” derives from the Latin for “wandering” or “straying.” And wander, it does. As the longest cranial nerve, the vagus nerve runs from the brain, through the neck and chest, and into the gut, touching various organs along the way, including the heart, lungs, liver, and gallbladder.

I quickly found out that what the vagus nerve does for your health is actually undersold in most of the oversimplified content you see online. Yes, it’s essential for the body’s relaxation response and nervous system regulation (more on that next), but its main job is to act as a two-way communication highway between your brain and your body to help regulate essential functions like your digestion, heartbeat, and breathing. In other words, it helps keep your body in balance and humming along smoothly.

Most of what I’ve seen on social media is about the vagus nerve’s role in nervous system regulation. We’re all likely familiar with the body’s stress response, also called “fight-or-flight.” Your heartbeat speeds up, your blood pressure rises, cortisol (the stress hormone) surges. As some researchers explain, the vagus nerve is responsible for bringing on the opposite state: the relaxation response, or “rest-and-digest,” where heart rate and blood pressure fall, and you feel calm.

Vagus nerve stimulation is any way of activating that calming pathway on purpose. The idea is that by stimulating the vagus nerve, you can nudge your mind and body into a calmer state, which is great news for those of us who sometimes spiral into stress or anxiety and can’t think our way out of it. Some forms of stimulation are medical and require a doctor; others are gentle, free, and something you can do at home. I wanted to understand both before I tried anything myself.

There are some low-powered ways to stimulate the vagus nerve naturally on your own at home. So as a curious researcher and experimenter, I decided to try out some of the vagus nerve exercises that seem like they have real evidence behind them:

• Slow, deep breathing. This is probably the most evidence-backed technique, as well as the easiest to do. A 2025 research review suggests that several forms of deep breathing boost vagal tone, nervous system relaxation, and emotional control while lowering levels of stress and cortisol. Based on that research, the best kind of vagus nerve breathing is deep belly breaths (also called diaphragmatic breathing) taken through the nose instead of the mouth, at a slow pace of six or fewer breaths per minute. That lined up pretty well with the breathwork practice I was already doing many evenings. So, I experimented with doing shorter, casual bouts of that style of breathing throughout the day, whenever I felt my body needed a shot of calm. It definitely did the trick.
• Cold water on your face. A 2022 systematic review and meta-analysis in Psychophysiology suggests that immersing your body in cold water, or more conveniently just your face, activates the vagus nerve. I’m already a big fan of cold plunging, so this one was easy for me. I’ve found that blasting cold shower water on my face, or dunking my face in ice water, is a great somatic technique to interrupt an emotional stress spiral.
• Humming. Since the vagus nerve touches the larynx, it makes sense that vocal vibration might stimulate it. While humming has been researched less as a vagus nerve stimulator, one 2023 study found that humming results in lower physiological stress levels than exercise and sleep, and that routine humming may reduce the stress response and increase relaxation in the nervous system. I wasn’t very consistent with this one but I found myself humming once in a while when I remembered it and certainly noticed a mildly pleasant, relaxing feeling.

If you want a few more nervous system tools beyond these, a set of grounding techniques can pair nicely with vagus nerve exercises when stress hits.

Once I got curious, I kept digging and started researching vagus nerve stimulation devices because they’re all over my feed too, usually with big promises. I specifically went looking for an FDA-cleared wearable I could just buy and use at home.

What I found surprised me: that exact thing doesn’t really exist yet.

The one non-invasive device that is FDA-cleared is gammaCore, made by electroCore. But there are two big catches. First, it’s cleared for migraine and cluster headache, not for stress or anxiety. Second, it’s a prescription, handheld device you press against your neck, not a wearable you can grab online and slip on. So even the most credible option isn’t the buy-it-now wearable my feed kept advertising.

The wearables you can actually purchase — the sleek neck and ear gadgets marketed for relaxation and sleep, like Truvaga (also from electroCore) and Pulsetto — are a different story. Here’s the catch I kept running into: as of now, these consumer devices are sold as general wellness products and have not been FDA-cleared for those calming claims, and independent, peer-reviewed evidence behind them is limited. That doesn’t mean they don’t help anyone. It just means the science isn’t there yet to back up the hype, and right now there’s no FDA-cleared vagus nerve device you can buy off the shelf for stress.

For me, that gap was enough to keep my wallet closed and stick with my free, no-gadget vagus nerve exercises. If you’re considering any device for a mental health reason, it’s worth talking it through with a clinician first rather than buying based on a viral video.

None of these techniques to stimulate your vagus nerve are magic bullets for less stress and more well-being. But based on my research and personal experience, stimulating the vagus nerve with breath, cold water, or humming can be a powerful, low-cost tool for chilling out your nervous system when you need it. And who doesn’t need that?

This article reflects personal experiences and general information. It is not intended as medical advice or a substitute for professional care.