The Case for Singing in the Shower
Molly Rushing, Advanced Clinical Fellow
If you've ever found yourself singing in the shower or even mindlessly humming a tune while folding the laundry, you may have noticed a boost in your mood. This phenomenon isn't just an emotional response to your excellent taste in music; it's also connected to a fascinating physiological process involving your vagus nerve.
The vagus, or "wandering" nerve, is the longest cranial nerve in the body. It forms a crucial bidirectional communication pathway, connecting your brain, heart, lungs, and gut. Beyond having a great name, it's often considered the unsung hero of emotional regulation. Stimulating this nerve can help shift your nervous system from a state of fight or flight into the autonomic "sweet spot" of rest and digest.
While trauma or chronic stress can dampen vagal function, a strong and responsive vagus nerve promotes better emotional regulation, improved heart rate variability, and overall resilience and well-being.
So, how can we strengthen this incredibly helpful nerve? There are several easy ways to do so throughout your day, starting with your morning shower.
Simple Ways to Activate Your Vagus Nerve
Singing or Humming: The vibration of your vocal cords is a simple yet powerful way to stimulate this nerve. It offers an immediate path to relieve stress, with the added benefit of emotional release.
Diaphragmatic Breathing: Deep, intentional breathing is another effective way to increase vagal tone. This gives you one more reason to practice those breathwork exercises recommended by doctors and wellness gurus. Remember to focus on extending your exhales, as this particularly boosts vagal stimulation.
Cold Exposure: There's no need to invest in a fancy cold plunge. Simply exposing a part of your body to a cold temperature, like splashing cold water on your face or applying a cold compress to your neck, can effectively engage the vagus nerve.
Laughing and Socializing: Laughter itself can strengthen the vagus nerve through vocal cord vibration and diaphragmatic engagement. To truly maximize these benefits, seek out opportunities to laugh in social settings. This compounds vagal stimulation through processes like co-regulation (when nervous systems calm each other) and enhanced neural activity from positive social interaction.
Listening to Music You Love: If you find yourself in a situation where a cold splash or a full-blown karaoke session isn't feasible, simply listening to music you enjoy can help regulate your internal rhythms. This activates the vagus nerve, gently guiding your nervous system into a calm, parasympathetic state.
The next time you feel stress creeping into your mind and body, pulling you toward fight or flight, try one of these simple methods. Work with your body's beautiful design to ease yourself into a more regulated and peaceful state.