The Vagus Nerve & Women’s Health: Why It’s Crucial for Hormones, Digestion, and Stress
The vagus nerve is the longest cranial nerve in the body and a critical communication highway between the brain, gut, and major organs in the body. It plays a central role in regulating digestion, hormone signaling, inflammation, and the stress response—all foundational elements of women’s health.
When functioning optimally, the vagus nerve helps shift the body into an optimal state for supporting healing and repair as well as supporting overall hormonal balance in the body. When dysregulated (aka "poor vagal tone") it can contribute to symptoms like bloating, fatigue, anxiety, irregular cycles, poor digestion, low stress resilience, and inflammation.
Why It Matters for Women
The vagus nerve is the primary regulator of the parasympathetic nervous system—your body’s "rest and digest" branch of the nervous system. For women, the body's ability to transition into this state is essential for:
Balanced blood sugar and optimal insulin sensitivty
Regulation of stress hormones (like cortisol and adrenaline)
Appropriate expression of hunger and satiety hormones
Healthy thyroid function and reproductive hormone signaling
Healthy immune and inflammatory responses
A healthy functioning vagus nerve supports the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis (your stress response system), which helps regulate menstrual cycles, fertility, energy, and mood.
Gut Health & the Vagus Nerve
The vagus nerve is deeply involved with the function and health of the gut. Healthy vagus nerve functioning is needed to:
Stimulate saliva and stomach acid (HCL)
Trigger the release of key digestive enzymes like pepsin and gastrin
Enhance motility throughout the digestive tract
Support the release of bile from the gallbladder for fat digestion and hormone detoxification
Improve blood flow to the gut, which is crucial for maintaining a healthy gut lining, optimal nutrient absorption and digestive function
Poor vagal tone is linked to:
Sluggish digestion and constipation
Poor nutrient absorption
Bloating and indigestion
Estrogen dominance (due to impaired bile and detox pathways)
Chronic stress and poor stress resilience
Mood disorders
Poor quality sleep
Low libido
Brain fog
Anxiety and depression
Disrupted communication between the brain and ovaries which can contribute to sex hormone imbalances, irregular cycles, PMS, and fertility challenges
What Disrupts the Vagus Nerve?
Modern life disrupts vagus nerve function more often than we think. Key disruptors include:
Chronic stress and staying in "fight or flight" mode.
Shallow breathing and poor diaphragm engagement. If the lungs aren't expanding fully (like with shallow breathing from your chest versus belly) the vagus nerve does not receive proper signaling and vagus nerve function is suppressed
Chronic inflammation
Head injuries or past trauma
Lack of safety, connection, or rest
A Note On Stress:
Stress comes in all different shapes and sizes and it's important to assess all of the different types of stressors impacting your body. Stress can be emotional (relationships, finances, long to-do lists, overcommitting ourselves, constantly being "busy" etc.). physical (under-eating, overexercising, lack of sleep, nutrient deficiencies), and environmental (high exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals and toxicants in our environment).
Stress is pervasive in our modern world and we often normalize chronic stressors or downplay their impact. In our work with women - we often see an adaption to chronic stress where the body is operating in a state of fight or flight even though we might not "feel" stressed. Repeated activation of the stress response system with daily stressors is one of the biggest reasons that we see poor vagus nerve function with clients that contributes to a laundry list of gut, hormonal, and metabolic symptoms.
Vagus Nerve Activation Strategies
The good news is - there is SO much we can do to support the vagus nerve and to improve vagal tone. These tools can help tone the vagus nerve for improving stress resilience, balancing hormones, and optimizing gut health. Choose 1-2 strategies below and aim to be as consistent as possible. Strengthening the vagus nerve takes some time & consistency (like strengthening a muscle).
Before diving into targeted strategies, it's important to note that the vagus nerve responds positively to feelings of safety and connection. Positive social connection and engagement involves the ventral vagal complex and can positively impact vagus nerve function, stress, and overall well-being. Positive and pleasurable connections with your partner, friends, family, etc. are super important and beneficial!
1. Aggressive Gargling
Gargle water as hard as you can until your eyes tear up (this is how you know you're stimulating the vagus nerve). With compromised vagal activity, it might take longer to tear up or you might not tear up at all. Over time you will start to tear more quickly which is a good sign.
Start with 8 ounces of water
Take a sip and gargle aggressively until you tear and spit out
Rinse and repeat until the glass is gone
Will take about 2-5 minutes to get through the glass of water.
Do these 1-2 times per day for most benefits
Will take 7-10 days to see a difference
Note: Clients often find it easiest to explore this strategy in the shower!
2. Breath-work
Deep belly breathing improves vagal tone and communicates safety to the brain, allowing the body to transition into a parasympathetic state (aka "rest and digest")
Try box breathing, 4-7-8 breathing, or a gentle breath-work session pre-meal by taking 3 slow deep belly breaths
3. Cold Exposure
Cold shower: Take a fully cold shower or "chase" the end of your shower with ice cold water. Start slow (even 10 seconds) and work your way up to 1-2 minutes. The goal is to regulate your breath while exposed to the cold (slow controlled breathing).
Cold facial plunge: Fill a large bowl with ice and water. Submerge your face into the cold water for 10-15 seconds. Repeat as many times as desired.
4. Humming
Humming vibrates in your throat and vocal cord area. The vagus nerve system runs through both the larynx and pharynx in your throat. Humming actively stimulates the vagus nerve and induces a parasympathetic state.
Hum to your favorite song or to the tune of "happy birthday"
Consider "habit stacking" a tool like this. For example - you could incorporate a quick humming exercise pre-meal while preparing or plating your food. This can help with supporting digestion too
5. Mouth Taping at Night (if you breathe well through your nose)
Consider using mouth tape while sleeping (only if breathing well through your nose). Mouth taping gently encourages nose breathing while you're asleep and improves vagus nerve function. Other possible benefits of mouth taping/nose breathing:
Better sleep/less waking throughout the night
Decreased snoring
Supports a healthy oral microbiome and filters out germs + bacteria
Activates the parasympathetic nervous system and leads to more restful sleep
Increases nitric oxide which improves blood oxygen levels
Can help with dry mouth and teeth grinding
6. Vagus Nerve Stimulation Devices
Tools like Sensate, Xen, or Pulsetto are devices designed to help improve vagal tone through gentle stimulation
It’s worth repeating: the vagus nerve is deeply influenced by safety and social connection. Positive touch, affection, laughter, and community engagement activate the ventral vagal system—improving hormone balance, gut function, and emotional resilience.
Final Note
If you’re dealing with hormonal symptoms, gut issues, mood related symptoms, fatigue or chronic stress...vagus nerve support might be the missing link. By supporting this powerful nerve with simple strategies daily, you can shift your body into a healing state —supporting digestion, hormone regulation, and overall vitality.
This is why our work with clients goes far beyond nutrition alone. We support clients holistically with both nutrition and lifestyle strategies that target their bodies' unique needs and root causes while supporting their innate ability to heal.
If you're interested in working with our team of Functional Dietitians to finally achieve sustainable results with your health, fill out an application to work with us here.
