A Simple Technique to Fight Stress and Inflammation

Proper nutrition and physical activity are widely accepted tools in preventing chronic disease. However, some doctors have begun to embrace another tool: vagus nerve stimulation.
Navaz Habib, a chiropractor certified in functional medicine, stresses the importance of diet and exercise, but the vagus nerve also plays a big role in his wellness strategy. He’s written two books on the subject, the most recent titled, “Upgrade Your Vagus Nerve.” The book explores the research, methods, and benefits of stimulating the vagus nerve, such as inflammation control, better immunity, and more.
“It’s a very unique nerve,” Habib said. “It is the only cranial nerve that leaves the head cavity and the only nerve in the body that connects to essentially every visceral organ.”
The name “vagus” comes from a Latin word that means wandering. When it’s working properly, the vagus nerve network presides over a diverse array of functions—influencing the immune, cardiovascular, digestive, respiratory, and endocrine systems.
“Our bodies cannot heal when we’re in a sympathetic fight or flight state. They need to enter that parasympathetic, rest, digest, and recovery state, and that’s where the healing process can occur,” he said.
While significant scientific details regarding the vagus nerve have emerged in recent years, the fundamental understanding of its functions has been available for centuries, particularly in the realm of deep breathing techniques like pranic breathing found in yogic practices, according to J.P. Errico, a neuroimmunology expert.
“Holding your breath and exhaling in a controlled manner stimulates the vagus nerve,” Errico told The Epoch Times.
“When you’re only shallow breathing, because you’re stressed or in fight or flight mode, you’re not stimulating it, because you’re not getting that signal through those stretch receptors,” Errico added.
In addition to deep breathing, other self-initiated techniques for stimulating the vagus nerve include humming, gargling, chanting, and singing.
These methods promote stimulation through vibration rather than stretch receptors. Since the voice box is located near a branch of the vagus nerve that runs through the neck, these vocalizations can gradually induce a sense of peace and calm.
However, keep in mind that these self-stimulating techniques work much slower than electrical stimulation. This is by design, Errico noted.
“What I’ve found is when we use electrical stimulation, we get results far more quickly,” he said. “We’re able to accelerate the process of healing within the vagus nerve itself.”
But Habib prefers another option. The device he uses on his patients and himself is a small handheld unit that runs between $300 and $500.
This device, known as Truvaga, was developed by Errico, who has been in the medical device-making business since the 1990s and has more than 250 patents to his name. Errico said he had been mulling over the idea of a nerve-stimulating device for years following a brief but enlightening discussion with a neurosurgeon.
“He was one of the very first people to start using deep brain stimulation to treat Parkinson’s and essential tremor. And I was absolutely flabbergasted when I saw the results of his surgeries,” Errico said. “By getting to the right location in the brain and stimulating it with the right parameters, he could stop a patient from shaking, and all the symptoms would go away with no side effects. That was pretty much as close to magic as I’d ever seen, and I knew that I wanted to get involved.”
Clinical research for Errico’s vagus nerve stimulator began in 2006, and initial studies showed that his design was effective, but he wanted to create something more accessible than an implant. “We actually did FDA approved pilot studies that worked beautifully,” Errico said, “but what we realized was that it wasn’t very user friendly, and we needed to figure out a way to do it non invasively.”
Subjects were “highly selected career linguists at the US Department of Defense’s premier language school.”
“These are people who are motivated, focused, good at what they do, and we were still able to demonstrate in every application anywhere from a 25 to 40 percent improvement,” Errico said.
“That acetylcholine moves throughout the brain, and it quiets any of those immune cells that happen to be distracted by inflammation. It really helps you focus. It really gets your brain working optimally,” he said.
Errico details the science behind vagus nerve stimulation in his recent book, “The Vagus-Immune Connection.”
While there are several reported benefits to vagus nerve stimulation, there is also a vulnerability to this nerve, as some people can inadvertently produce a negative reaction. Known as the vasovagal response—the condition can be brought on by pain or emotional upset, which can cause light-headedness, a sudden drop in blood pressure, and possibly fainting or syncope.
But Errico ensures that this reaction won’t happen with Truvaga.
Elizabeth Tringali, a board-certified physician assistant who runs an integrative family practice in West Palm Beach, Florida, says she’s been using it on her patients for about two years with good results.
“It’s miraculous,” she said.
Tringali mentions one patient—a 40-year-old woman who was having anxiety attacks. “She was flipping out,” Tringali said. “We called 911 just to make sure she wasn’t having a heart attack.”
Within minutes after using the Truvaga device, the patient calmed down. “She told the paramedics they didn’t need to stay. She was like a new person,” Tringali said.
Since vagus nerve stimulation can help activate the parasympathetic nervous system, Tringali says Truvaga can be very helpful for patients stuck in sympathetic dominance.
“We inherit these patients with all these chronic illnesses, and they just can’t get out of fight or flight from being sick for so many years,” she said. “They are on 20 medications and have tried everything under the sun.”
Tringali lets patients try the device in her office, and if they like it, they may purchase a unit to use at home. She says some results are immediate, while others take time to manifest.
“It’s where you would feel for your pulse,” Errico said. “You place the two electrodes in that notch, and then you begin to turn up the amplitude. The very first thing you’ll feel is a little tingling at the skin.”
Errico says this particular place on the neck that the unit targets offers the best opportunity for stimulation. “That’s where the largest number of fibers are,” he said.
A bit of contact gel (like the one used on an EKG machine) helps carry the current from the device to the skin. Users can control the amplitude of the device, typically setting it low when they first begin and turning it up once they get used to the feeling.
Errico says even dogs like it. “As soon as they see the device, they’ll roll over and expose their neck,” he said. “It calms them down. They like it.”
The least expensive version of the device is called Truvaga 350. The drawback is that it has a limited number of uses (only 350 two-minute sessions or about six months worth of treatments if you use it twice a day). The pricier models have an unlimited number of uses but require an app installed on your phone.