Therapist-Approved Vagus Nerve Exercises for Better Sleep

Poor sleep is a problem many people share. There are several reasons why someone may not sleep well, meaning there are a range of possible strategies you may use to improve your sleep. However, people may not know that vagus nerve stimulation is one of the most evidence-based sleep improvement strategies.

Vagus nerve stimulation works because the vagus nerve has a hand in attention, digestion, emotion regulation, and sleep. The vagus nerve does this by helping us manage stress and achieve a sense of relaxation, which undoubtedly helps us get good rest.

In this article, you will learn more about vagus nerve activity and how exactly it affects your sleep. We will also review some vagus nerve exercises for sleep, along with our tool Soundsory, all of which you can use to support your vagus nerve and improve your overall well-being.

How the Vagus Nerve Affects Sleep

We mentioned that the vagus nerve is part of the nervous system, more specifically, the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). If you’re familiar with the phrase ‘rest and digest,’ you may already know these are the main functions of the PNS. Rest can be a subjective word for some people, but our body views rest as a calm state where our heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure levels are all balanced. Digestion allows our body to focus on breaking down what we consume to give us the energy we need.

Both relate directly to sleep since proper rest and digestion also regulate the amount of hormones in our bodies. When our vagus nerve isn’t functioning as it should, this can cause a direct spike in cortisol (one of the main stress hormones) and an indirect increase in related hormones such as adrenaline. A weak vagus nerve also encourages inflammation, which can negatively impact our sleep in many ways.

If our bodies struggle to process these hormones due to a sluggish vagus nerve, this leads to cortisol buildup. This accumulation not only fuels poor sleep but also creates a cycle that makes it difficult to get the rest we need. But vagus nerve exercises for sleep can help.

Research shows that one type of vagus nerve stimulation for sleep (called transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation, or tVNS) strengthened this nerve, leading to improvements in symptoms of insomnia, along with mental health and chronic fatigue. Another study found that tVNS led to significant improvements in global sleep quality for older adults. Similarly, other researchers found that tVNS led to an increase in sleep quality, total sleep time, and overall quality-of-life.

As with many medical treatments, there are some side effects and risks to be aware of. For instance, studies show that vagus nerve stimulation devices increase symptoms in individuals who have sleep apnea. For this reason, it is important to consult with your doctor before using vagus nerve stimulation to ensure no aspects of your health history place you at risk of complications.

Signs You Might Have Low Vagal Tone That’s Affecting Your Sleep

While you cannot diagnose vagus nerve dysfunction yourself, there are several indications that you might have weak vagal tone that is contributing to sleep concerns. 

Some of the following sleep concerns may be signs and symptoms of low vagal tone:

• Difficulty falling asleep
• Waking up several times throughout the night
• Taking a long time to fall back asleep after waking up
• Feelings of increased anxiety or physical energy in the evening or during the night
• Experiencing increased stress shortly before going to bed
• Low heart rate variability (HRV)
  • Low or poor HRV means your body has difficulty shifting between periods of high stress and rest. This occurs when someone’s nervous system is overactive.
• Instances of abdominal pain, dizziness, nausea, and sweating while laying down (either asleep or otherwise)
• Sleep apnea symptoms, including periods of gasping for air overnight, snoring, choking sounds, and jerking movements similar to muscle spasms
• Nightmares or overly vivid dreams

If someone has a weak vagus nerve, their body will have difficulty entering a more relaxed state during the times they are trying to fall asleep. Low vagal tone (and the poor sleep that often accompanies it) will also lead them to display other symptoms during the day, including:

• Difficulty maintaining focus and processing information, sometimes referred to as brain fog
• Dizziness
• Increased feelings of anxiety and generalized emotional tension
• Chronic fatigue

It can be difficult for people to determine whether the signs and symptoms in the second list are directly due to vagus nerve dysfunction or if they indirectly result from poor sleep. As we mentioned earlier, this creates a cycle where the interrelated parts tend to affect one another. 

Either way, if these symptoms sound familiar, it is likely because vagus nerve dysfunction is impacting your ability to rest, and you may be able to benefit from vagus nerve exercises for sleep.

How Soundsory Can Help with Vagus Nerve‑Mediated Sleep Relief

SoundSory is a multi-sensory program that stimulates the vagus nerve – calming the nervous system, strengthening vagal tone, and encouraging deeper, more restful sleep. Using SoundSory at bedtime creates a routine that promotes regular parasympathetic activation and teaches the nervous system that evenings are for rest. This not only helps with sleep, but can improve your mood, cognitive function, and energy levels throughout the day. 

SoundSory is non-invasive, safe, and can be used alongside any other vagus nerve exercises for sleep that you may practice. SoundSory uses a combination of music and exercise to simultaneously soothe and strengthen the vagus nerve. This may sound simple enough, but SoundSory uses specialized technology to address vagus nerve dysfunction.

SoundSory takes advantage of patented sound processing technology to target the muscles of the middle ear. Just as exercises strengthen large muscles in the body, SoundSory’s music helps the muscles in this part of the ear grow stronger. This also allows them to communicate better with the vagus nerve and other parts of the nervous system.

The headset used as part of SoundSory’s program is also innovative in its use of air and bone conduction. This means music coming from the headset rapidly sends gentle vibrations to the top of the skull. The path these vibrations take also allows for direct stimulation of the inner and middle ear. Since the ear directly connects to the vagus nerve, this allows a sense of relaxation and safety that improves sleep.

SoundSory has a host of benefits for sleep, but they have also created a protocol specially for this purpose – SoundSory for Sleep. The music used in this program is what makes it so effective, as it uses a specific pitch, rhythm, and intensity. These properties have a funnel-like effect that aligns well with the body’s sleep stages. The music’s pitch, rhythm, and intensity all slowly decrease as it plays, which offers the listener a natural transition to a more relaxed state. In addition, lullabies, Celtic, and classical music all have soothing melodies on their own, which are known to support vagal tone.

Now that you better understand the benefits of vagus nerve stimulation for sleep, along with the inner workings of SoundSory, you can take steps to try this program as part of your nightly routine.

5 Additional Exercises to Stimulate the Vagus Nerve for Better Sleep

In order to give you a full breadth of vagus nerve exercises for sleep, we have also compiled a list of exercises you can try from the comfort of your own home. 

These exercises were intentionally selected because of their ability to target vagus nerve pathways in a way that prepares the body for sleep. So these vagus nerve activation techniques go far beyond general health and wellness – they are widely viewed as evidence-based sleep readiness tools.

1. Deep abdominal breathing

Deep abdominal breathing, also called belly breathing, engages the parasympathetic nervous system (which the vagus nerve is part of) by making it shift out of ‘auto-pilot.’ By breathing in such a slow and intentional way, this activates the nervous system by making it recognize you are safe, have the time and space to enter ‘rest and digest’ mode, and can fully relax in preparation for sleep. 

How to do it:

1. Lie down, ideally on a couch or another comfortable spot.
2. Place one hand flat on your chest and your other hand flat on your stomach.
3. While taking air in only through your nose, breathe in for a count of 4. As you breathe in, pay attention to your upper hand (the one over your chest) slowly rising as your lungs fill with air.
4. Hold this breath for a count of 7 seconds. While doing this, be sure your body is relaxed and not holding tension anywhere.
5. Gently place your lips together and breathe all the air in your lungs out for a count of 8. As you breathe out, pay attention to your lower hand (the one over your stomach) slowly lowering as the air leaves your body.

Duration and frequency: The steps above outline one full abdominal breath, and it is recommended to do a set of 10 for the most effect. This gives your nervous system the time to adjust to the breathing pattern and send signals of safety and calmness to your entire body. You can practice several sets of deep abdominal breathing before sleeping, with each time offering a deeper sense of relaxation.

Expert tip: According to Brittany Ferri, an occupational therapist, there are various forms of breathing that produce this same effect. She says, “Try breathing in for 4 seconds, holding the breath for 4 seconds, and exhaling for 4 seconds. This is called box breathing. You can experiment with different time intervals and see what works best for you. ”

2. Gentle throat singing

Throat singing uses movement in the vocal cords, which creates a vibrating motion in the throat. Since the vagus nerve runs down the sides of the neck, these vibrations also reach there. Vibration stimulates the vagus nerve and relaxes the whole body, which is just what our bodies need to get good sleep. Plus, this motion is gentle enough that it doesn’t increase energy levels and make us more alert at night.

How to do it:

1. Relax your jaw, lips, and tongue as much as possible.
   1. If you have trouble doing this, try keeping a relaxed mouth while humming. Once you feel more comfortable doing this, move on to the next step.
2. While still relaxing as much of your mouth as you can, make an “L” then an “R” sound using just the tip of your tongue at the roof of your mouth.
   1. Practice making these sounds one after the other with your mouth in this position. Once you feel more comfortable doing this, move on to the next step.
3. Using the same mouth position from the previous step, make a low humming noise. Try to make the sound come from your chest rather than your mouth.
   1. Practice this type of humming several times. Once you feel more comfortable doing this, move on to the next step.
4. While continuing to make the noise from the previous step, try adding some small lip and tongue movements to help.
   1. Listen for slight changes in the sounds you are making. The noise should become a little deeper as you go along.

Duration and frequency: Try to gently throat sing for up to 5 minutes each night before bed.

Expert tip: Ferri notes, “Throat singing can be difficult to get the hang of, but you can start slowly by just humming, then gradually work your way through the other steps. Humming still creates vibration in the throat and activates the vagus nerve, so you are still getting the benefits!”

3. Cold compress

There are several cranial nerves running through the face that connect with the vagus nerve, so stimulating those also serves to stimulate the vagus nerve. Exposing your face to cold temperatures for brief periods of time triggers the vagus nerve and allows it to produce a calming effect that helps with sleep. In addition, we are supposed to feel slightly cold before bedtime, as this helps regulate our body temperature properly overnight and keeps us asleep.

How to do it:

1. Get a washcloth or small hand/face towel.
2. Run cold water through your faucet for some time until it is as cold as it will get.
3. Fully soak the cloth or towel in that cold water.
4. Use both hands to squeeze the towel and wring it out when it gets too full of water, then run it briefly under the water again.
5. Roll the cloth or towel up and place it at the back of your neck, right under your hairline.
6. Keep it there for 1 minute.
7. As the cloth becomes room temperature, unroll it and run it under cold water again.
8. Wring it out and reroll it, then place it at the back of your neck again.
9. Keep it there for 1 minute.
10. Once the cloth becomes room temperature, unroll it and run it under cold water again.
11. Wring it out, then place it fully over your face so that it covers your eyes, nose, mouth, and as much of your face as it can.
12. Keep it there for 1 minute.
13. As the cloth becomes room temperature, run it under cold water again.
14. Wring it out, then place it on top of your face again.
15. Keep it there for 1 minute.

Duration and frequency: It’s best to practice this full sequence (which takes about 4 minutes) one time before bed each night. As you get more comfortable with the temperature on these body parts, try doing more than 1 minute at a time.

Expert tip: According to Ferri, “The cold temperature helps reset the body and is invigorating, so it’s likely you will feel more refreshed as a result.”

Foot massage

Foot massage targets the nerves in the foot, which are known to be connected to many other nerves in the body. However, the feet don’t often get attention when it comes to vagus nerve stimulation. Therefore, gentle touch and massage to the feet can stimulate lesser-known vagus nerve connections that encourage sleep. Foot massage technique can also ease muscular tension, which is known to be associated with stress, making it a great activity.

How to do it:

1. Find a comfortable spot to sit.
2. Cross your legs so that one foot is resting across your opposite knee.
3. Using the thumbs of both hands gently rub your foot in a circular motion, going from the bottom of the foot by the heel and up toward the toes.
4. Try to spend around 10 to 15 seconds on each part of the foot before moving on to the next.
5. When you reach the top of the foot, go back to the bottom of the foot and complete another four repetitions spanning the full length of the foot.

Duration and frequency: It’s best to do this 3-5 times each night for the best results.

Expert tip: You can pair a foot massage with other relaxation techniques for a greater effect. Ferri suggests, “Try calming scents such as lavender, ylang ylang, and chamomile along with this exercise. Dilute a small amount of these essential oils to rub on your feet as you massage.”

Mindful body scan

Practices such as mindful body scans power down the sympathetic nervous system (that puts us into fight or flight mode) and switch on the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps us rest and digest. This gives the body a better understanding of when we need to be doing what, enhancing vagal tone, and preparing us for sleep.

 How to do it:

1. Find a comfortable spot to sit or lie down. (You can even do this one in bed!)
2. Close your eyes and clear your mind as best you can.
3. Starting at the top of your head, focus on each major part of the body and tap into the sensations you notice there.
   1. For example, do you feel tension in your head? Do you feel your brow furrow or your jaw clenched? If so, try to ease this tension as much as you can by simply being present. You can also pay attention to any external sensations, such as the feeling of a hair tie around your hair or dangly earrings touching your neck. Notice each of those sensations, but let your mind pass between them simply and easily.
4. Once you have given enough consideration to the head, move on to your neck and chest.
5. Then move on to your arms, your mid-section, your hips and thighs, your lower legs, and your feet.
6. Once you have reached your feet, slowly open your eyes and readjust to your surroundings.

Duration and frequency: There’s no need to put a time limit on this exercise, since it’s meant to be a present activity. You can do this once each night before bed to help your mind tune into sleep.

Expert tip: Ferri notes, “Some people like to pair this exercise with yoga, as it’s a good cool down after movement-based activities.”

Sleep Hygiene Tips to Support Vagus Nerve Activation

In addition to the vagus nerve exercises for sleep we just reviewed, there are other ways to create an evening routine that supports vagus nerve activation. This is known as sleep hygiene, which is defined as a set of practices that help with sleep. You can use some of the following sleep hygiene tips to further support the health of your vagus nerve and achieve better rest:

• Limiting caffeine and alcohol after a certain time of day: It’s best to avoid all sources of caffeine (which can be found in soda, coffee, energy drinks, and even some teas) and alcohol after around 2 pm. This is because they may remain in the body until evening, making it difficult to get good sleep. Caffeine and alcohol both disrupt the body’s natural clock, so they can give the body a signal to remain awake. Some people may feel that caffeine and alcohol actually help them fall asleep, though they are associated with overall poorer sleep, so they can lead to tossing and turning and frequent waking overnight. These substances also place the vagus nerve into overdrive, making it difficult to switch between ‘fight or flight’ and ‘rest and digest.’

• Keeping a consistent sleep schedule: This means going to bed and waking up around the same time each day. This is known as an environmental cue that helps the body naturally learn to power down and increase alertness based on its internal sense of time. The vagus nerve benefits from routine – this is also why it’s recommended to form a routine with SoundSory and the vagus nerve stimulation exercises we reviewed earlier. By adding timing to that routine, the vagus nerve will start the process of preparing for rest on its own by making us more tired in the evening.

• Staying away from electronic devices for around 90 minutes before bedtime: Any device that emits blue light has the potential to interfere with our sleep. This includes tablets, TVs, phones, and computers. The blue light that comes from these devices disrupts our body’s natural rhythms and prevents the vagus nerve from working properly. This means exposure to blue light makes it harder for the vagus nerve to switch our body into a resting state to help with sleep.

• Keeping the bedroom cool, quiet, and calm: The calmness and quiet of our bedroom allow us to sleep better, as many people are understandably sensitive to stress-inducing noises. However, many people don’t know that cool temperatures also help calm the vagus nerve and keep our body in the resting state it needs to get to (and stay) asleep.

And remember, pairing any of these vagus nerve exercises for sleep with SoundSory is another great way to form a better sleep routine.

When to Seek Professional Help

We’ve discussed many ways to stimulate the vagus nerve for sleep, though it is important to know when to visit a healthcare professional for sleep concerns. For example, someone with a sleep disorder that persists should seek medical help, especially if these concerns last weeks or months without getting better or if they begin worsening without any obvious reason. 

If you suspect you have sleep apnea, it is important to seek medical help immediately, as this condition causes someone to stop breathing throughout the night and can lead to cognitive concerns if not properly addressed.

If you’ve benefited from these sleep exercises but want to explore additional ways to stimulate the vagus nerve, you can discuss vagus nerve stimulation devices with your doctor. Your healthcare provider can offer the best recommendations based on your medical history, since vagus nerve stimulation devices are not safe for use with certain underlying conditions.

Conclusion

We’ve discussed a wide range of ways the vagus nerve helps us prepare for sleep and get quality sleep throughout the night. Now, you can complete some of the suggested vagus nerve exercises for sleep with a greater understanding of how they impact various parts of the nervous system.

Remember that it’s important to create a healthy balance of methods that support the vagus nerve for sleep. You can do this by combining some of the targeted exercises we discussed, using SoundSory’s sleep program, and forming a plan for improved sleep hygiene. Experiment with each technique, keep track of how your sleep is changing as a result, and make changes to increase the results you see. We are confident each of these steps will encourage a greater sense of calm, lead to better sleep, and improve your overall well-being.

FAQs | Vagus Nerve and Sleep

What does an overstimulated vagus nerve feel like?

An overstimulated vagus nerve may lead to constant waking up during the night, difficulty falling asleep, feelings of dizziness or anxiety before bed, nausea, and restlessness. You may also struggle to feel alert and focus during the day, which can all affect good rest.

How does SoundSory help you sleep better?

SoundSory’s innovative program stimulates the vagus nerve using specialized music and physical exercises. This places our body in a sense of calm that helps us sleep better and feel more alert during the day.

Does vagus nerve dysfunction cause sleep disorders?

Yes, vagus nerve dysfunction can be one of several contributing factors to the development of sleep disorders.

Do I need an implant to benefit from vagus nerve stimulation for sleep?

Not necessarily. You can practice vagus nerve stimulation through exercises and non-invasive programs such as SoundSory.

How are the vagus nerve and sleep linked?

The vagus nerve helps control our stress and hormone levels, which must achieve a certain balance in the evening to prepare us for sleep and keep us asleep through the night.

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