Hack Your Brain to Feel Better
Do you want to know how to hack your brain to feel better?
I’d love to tell you about one of my “brain hacks” and it has to do with my favorite cranial nerve, the vagus nerve!
First of all, Vagus means “wandering” in Latin. This awesome nerve starts at the base of your brainstem and wanders all over the body, connecting your major organ systems. Check out the vagus nerve (pictured in green) wandering from the brain to the face, down to the throat, heart, lungs, stomach, and colon!
What does the vagus nerve do? Well in simple terms, the vagus nerve is responsible for calming us down. When your stress response happens, and you feel all these intense body reactions, you may be in “fight/flight” mode. To counterbalance that, your vagus nerve can pump the brakes and make you feel calmer. Your brain and your body are literally connected and they communicate. Your brain can calm your body and your body can calm your brain.
When we say, “Mind-Body” connection, this is what we are talking about! When someone says, I have a “gut feeling” it’s because their brain is actually connected to their gut. (Fun fact: 80% of the vagus nerve fibers send instructions to the brain straight from the gut!)
So read below for the step-by-step process to use this information so you can hack your brain to feel better!
Step 1: Notice your body sensations.
We all have different experiences of stress, yet it’s important to remember that you experience feelings in your BODY. When you’re feeling stressed, where do you feel it in your body? Does your chest tighten? Does your throat get dry? Does your stomach feel upset? Some people feel their heart racing or get flushed and hot. What do you notice?
Step 2: Name your body sensations.
I sometimes like to ask teens and families, “What is the first sign in your body that tells you that you’re getting stressed?” Just by simply naming what we are experiencing, we can start to feel better. I love the word list from Dr. Lori Desaultels to help build the language of the mind-body connection so that we can learn to hack our brains! Here’s the Body-Mind check-in I use with families:
Step 3: Remember that you can feel better at this moment.
One of my favorite quotes from Thich Nhat Hanh, mindfulness guru, is, “We have more possibilities available in each moment than we realize.” It can be really overwhelming to experience intense feelings and strong body sensations, and you can always make this moment better. One way is to activate your vagus nerve!
Step 4: Practice a regulation strategy.
There are many ways to activate your vagus nerve, so try different ones and see what works for you!
Deep, slow breathing is my personal favorite because it will lower your heart rate and calm your body. Whenever you are breathing, remember to breathe in through your nose and exhale out the mouth. Try to make your exhale longer than your inhale if you want to increase calm feelings. Check out my “Smell your soup, cool your soup” video for a fun strategy to practice with kids. (My brother is an accountant and he even uses this “smell your soup” method for himself!)
Singing or humming also activates the vagus nerve, so put on those headphones or crank up the radio and sing along. (My grandmother used to always hum in the kitchen and now I realize that she was activating her vagus nerve. No wonder she seemed so relaxed all the time!)
Hug it out! A good compression like a hug can stimulate the vagus nerve and release oxytocin. You can always wrap your arms around yourself and give yourself a hug if you need a little boost. (My students do this in class and it totally works! I like to combine this with a deep breath for an ultimate dose of calm.)
If you are extremely stressed, try splashing cold water on your face. The temperature change can stimulate the vagus nerve and help you feel calmer! (I’ve had students do this at school to help with test anxiety or as a way to distract themselves if they had intense urges to self-harm. Cold water is a lifesaver for some people!)
Step 5: Notice what you notice.
After you practice a regulation strategy, it’s important to go back to step one and check in with your body again. What do you notice? Are you feeling any differently? You may notice some heaviness or lightness, or a release of tension. Pay attention to that feeling. Notice that you are in control of what you do in this moment and remember that you can take care of yourself.
All of this takes practice, but as you practice regulating you will build new neurological connections (here’s a video of the brain if you are wondering what that looks like) and this can decrease your stress over time! That’s right, you can change the structure of your brain. You can hack your brain and feel better right now.
Dive deeper:
Read about Stephen Porges Polyvagal Theory and Interpersonal Neurobiology
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WRITTEN BY MEAGAN BUTLER, LPC, TBRI® PRACTITIONER (SHE/HER/HERS)
Meagan Genell Irish Butler is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) with specialized training in Mindfulness, Neuroscience-based interventions, and Trauma-Informed Practices. Meagan received her Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology: Counseling from University of Texas at Austin and her Bachelor’s Degree in International Studies: Intercultural Communication from Pepperdine University. As a lifelong learner, Meagan is currently in a PhD program at Texas State University.
