How to Tone Your Vagus Nerve

If you have been experiencing stress or anxiety, toning your vagus nerve may help you switch your brain's messages from being nervous to being relaxed.

Some of the increased vagus nerve activity can be reduced by massage. You can stimulate the vagus nerve by massaging your ears. The most effective approach to massage the ear is to do both sides at once.

1. Place your index finger behind the lower back of your ear. Your fingertips will land behind your ear, in front of the circular bone (mastoid process), where it joins your skull.

3. Massage the area surrounding your ear's curve, where it joins your head, from bottom to top.

4. Repeat the massage from bottom to top around the curve using your fingertips on the back of your ears and your thumbs in front to massage the rest of the back of your ear.

5. Now concentrate on massaging the front side of the ear from top to bottom, heading to the centre.

6. Gently massage the external ear canal.

7. Apply light pressure to the skin flap that covers the ear canal. Use a slight popping motion to force the tragus (skin flap) to cover the ear canal.

Take a look below for some more great exercises.