What’s my vagus nerve? (and what it has to do with speaking anxiety)

Your vagus nerve is the largest nerve in your body. It connects the brain through the heart all the way to your gut.

Vagal nerve theory controls the parasympathetic nervous system—think circulation, breath, rest, relaxation, digestion, immunity, speech! strategic thinking! (all really important functions to access when speaking up!).

When we’re in fight-or-flight, the vagus nerve shuts down (along with all the functions necessary to communicate and think on our feet!). Many of us feel like we’re floating above, unable to fully be present, embodied, or in the moment.

While we’re taught to believe that we think solely with our brain, recent research actually shows that we think in concert with our gut, on the gut-brain axis. 95% of our serotonin lives in our gut, along with our strategic thinking and communication centers.

So why are we surprised when we struggle to think on our feet in our most challenging moments? When we’re holding our breath, tensing our bodies, or doubting ourselves?

To regulate the nervous system, we want to remind the vagus nerve to relax. We want to trick the vagus nerve into activation. We need to reprioritize rest, breath, and comfort.

To activate the vagus nerve, we have to make our bodies heavy and still. We have to do the OPPOSITE of what the anxiety is telling us to do. The nerves will tell you to speak fast, fidget, pace—but unconscious movement stirs up unconscious anxiety.

Ready to stimulate your vagus nerve and have more control over anxiety when speaking?

Lean back and take up space. Making your body heavy and still helps the vagus nerve turn on. It also helps you harness embodied cognition and improve hormonal confidence.

Centralize your focus. Instead of looking up and around while thinking, ground your physical attention by looking somewhere specific (a key on your keyboard, a spot out the window, something on your desk—try to keep it offscreen and in your real world environment). This helps you retain focus and think strategically (looking up and away unconsciously can trigger deep thought and we never want you in deep thought off-the-cuff!)

Focus on simplicity. Too many of us focus on finding the right words when we’re put on the spot (but we don’t think verbally when we’re fully utilizing the vagus nerve). The most ideal age range to communicate to is 8 and 9 year olds! So focus on simplicity (instead of “sounding professional” or “finding the right words”). The right words are a trap!

What helps you regulate your nervous system? Let me know in the comments! And download my free micro-course here. In just ten minutes, I’ll help you turn panic into presence so you can feel more in control when speaking.