The Vagus Nerve: Your Missing Link to Lower Stress, Better Digestion & Hormone Balance
from Dee Davidson, FDN-P
If you’ve been eating clean, taking supplements, exercising, and still dealing with inflammation, brain fog, gut issues, anxiety, or weight resistance, your vagus nerve may be the missing piece.
In a recent episode of the Confidently Balance Your Hormones podcast, I sat down with Dr. Navaz Habib (“The Vagus Nerve Doc”) to talk about how the vagus nerve influences inflammation, gut health, hormones, and nervous system regulation. What we uncovered is something every woman needs to hear.
What Is the Vagus Nerve? (And Why It Matters for Women’s Health)
The vagus nerve is your body’s main communication channel between your gut, brain, and immune system. It plays a major role in:
Reducing inflammation
Regulating the parasympathetic nervous system
Supporting digestion and gut motility
Balancing mood and anxiety
Improving hormone health
Enhancing sleep and recovery
When your vagus nerve is strong (high vagal tone), your body can shift into healing mode.
When it’s weak or overwhelmed, symptoms appear—often for years before you realize what’s happening.
How the Vagus Nerve Regulates Inflammation & Immunity
Dr. Habib explained how the vagus nerve helps control inflammation through the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway. This is your body’s built-in mechanism for turning inflammation down.
However, when you’re stuck in chronic stress or poor sleep, the brain becomes hyperinflammatory, leading to:
Brain fog
Migraines
Fatigue
Slow healing
Heightened pain
Autoimmune flare-ups
Your vagus nerve becomes overwhelmed, and your immune system loses its balance. Strengthening vagal tone is one of the fastest ways to calm inflammation naturally.
Stress, Sleep & Nervous System Dysregulation
One of the biggest takeaways from our conversation was how stress physiology affects healing. When you’re in fight-or-flight mode:
Digestion slows
Detox pathways back up
Hormones get disrupted
Sleep becomes shallow
Blood sugar swings
Inflammation increases
Together, these patterns weaken the vagus nerve.
Before supplements can make a real impact, your nervous system needs to shift into rest-and-digest, also known as parasympathetic activation.
The Gut–Brain Connection: How Your Microbiome Shapes Vagal Tone
Your gut microbiome has a direct influence on vagus nerve function.
Dr. Habib shared a study showing:
Mice without a microbiome had extremely low HRV (heart rate variability), a marker of vagus nerve and nervous system health.
Once their microbiome was restored, HRV improved.
This demonstrates the deep connection between:
Gut bacteria
Nervous system regulation
Emotional resilience
Immune function
Vagus nerve activation
Gut issues like IBS, bloating, constipation, and IBD are often symptoms of a dysregulated gut–brain–immune axis.
Why You Can’t Heal Without Feeling Safe
This is one of the most powerful lessons from the episode:
Your body cannot heal until it feels safe.
Emotional stress, unresolved trauma, nutrient deficiencies, lack of sleep, and chronic inflammation all create biochemical danger signals that weaken your vagus nerve.
This leads to:
Leaky gut
Autoimmune activation
Hormone imbalance
Increased pain
Food sensitivities
Digestive issues
Foundational healing—sleep, stress reduction, nutrient replenishment, and nervous system safety—must come first before any advanced protocols or restrictive diets.
Nitric Oxide: A Key Support for Vagus Nerve Function
We also discussed the role of nitric oxide, which supports:
Blood flow
Oxygen delivery
Nutrient absorption
Vascular health
Cognitive performance
Better blood flow = stronger vagus nerve responsiveness.
Nitric oxide is not a cure-all, but it enhances the body’s natural ability to repair and respond.
The VAGUS Protocol: A Framework for Nervous System Healing
Dr. Habib’s VAGUS Protocol aligns beautifully with functional medicine and the work I do with clients:
V — Validation
Using labs, wearable data (HRV), and symptoms to validate what your body is experiencing.
A — Activation
At-home vagus nerve exercises like:
Nasal breathing
Diaphragmatic (belly) breathing
Slow, extended exhales
Gargling, humming, chanting
Gentle cold exposure
These simple tools strengthen vagal tone.
G — Gut–Brain–Immune Optimization
Supporting the microbiome, improving digestion, calming inflammation.
U — Unburdening
Reducing toxic load—environmental, emotional, dietary.
S — Sustaining
Building habits that stick: the 80/20 rule, consistency over perfection, and weekly—not daily—progress tracking.
Simple Vagus Nerve Exercises You Can Start Today
Here are easy practices you can integrate immediately:
3–5 deep nasal breaths before meals
Daily 10-minute walks to regulate cortisol
Humming or singing to activate vagal pathways
Body scans to release stored tension
Consistent bedtime routine to improve HRV and recovery
These micro-shifts create major changes when done consistently.
Final Thoughts: Healing Begins with Your Nervous System
If you’re struggling with chronic symptoms—hormonal imbalance, gut issues, stubborn inflammation, fatigue, anxiety, or sleep problems—vagus nerve support is not optional.
It’s foundational.
Your body is always working to protect you.
When we reduce stress, regulate the nervous system, and restore microbiome balance, the vagus nerve becomes your most powerful healing tool.
You don’t have to figure this out alone.
This is exactly the kind of deep root-cause work I support clients with every day.
Medical Disclaimer
This blog post is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult your licensed healthcare provider before making changes to medications or medical treatment.
Dr. Navaz Habib, aka “The Vagus Nerve Doc,” is a best-selling author of 2 books – “Activate Your Vagus Nerve” and “Upgrade Your Vagus Nerve” and host of The Health Upgrade Podcast. After using functional medicine to overcome his own health challenges, Dr. Habib built Health Upgraded, an online health program implementing his VAGUS protocol, to guide parents and professionals to enhance their health by unlocking the healing power of the Vagus nerve to reduce the effects of stress and inflammation.