Kickstart Your Vagus Nerve

The vagus nerve is responsible and intertwined with countless body functions. If the vagus nerve is not functioning properly it can result in dysfunction in many areas.
One of the very common causes of low vagus nerve signaling is dysfunctional breathing. When we were a baby out the womb, we breathed from the belly. This is how we should be breathing. Put your hand on your belly now, and one hand on your chest. Take a breath. See where you are expanding, by the belly or by your shoulders. In our society, where looking good and thin is so important, we tend to hold our stomachs in to keep a good figure and presence. So instead of pushing out by the abdomen to breathe, we end up raising our shoulders, using our accessory muscles to breathe. These are meant for a backup, where we need an extra breath-not for all the time breathing.
So, we have been training ourselves to breathe incorrectly for years. As a result, the phrenic nerve is not signaling properly, and the vagus nerve signaling becomes less efficient.
Learning or relearning how to properly breathe will help you avoid this pitfall. Breathe in by expanding your belly outward and out by pushing your stomach in. Sitting in a slouched position with a bad posture inhibits your breathing, so make sure you sit straight. Avoid breathing through the mouth as well.