What does it mean to stimulate your vagus nerve?
Stimulating your vagus nerve means doing something that briefly increases its activity, such as slowing your breathing or putting cold water on your face, which shifts your body towards rest-and-digest. That is different from raising your resting vagal tone, the steady background level, which changes over weeks with habits rather than in minutes.
The vagus nerve is the main nerve of the rest-and-digest system, linking the brainstem to the heart, lungs and gut. Nobody can measure its activity directly at home. Researchers use heart rate variability (HRV), the beat-to-beat variation in your heart rate, as the main window onto it.1 That is how most of the studies below judge whether a method works.
Keeping the two goals apart makes the online advice much easier to sort:
- Quick resets change vagal activity within seconds or minutes. They are useful before a presentation or after a difficult phone call, and the effect fades when you stop.
- Long-term habits shift your resting baseline, the level your body returns to. They take weeks and don’t feel like anything on the day.
Social media mostly sells the first as if it were the second. There is no single exercise that “resets” the nerve. New to the vagus nerve itself? Start with our complete guide to the vagus nerve, or read signs of low vagal tone.
Which vagus nerve methods have the best evidence?
Slow breathing at around six breaths a minute has the strongest trial evidence for increasing vagal activity, and cold water on the face triggers the fastest response. Exercise and sleep best raise resting vagal tone. Nutrition has the strongest science underneath it all, because the vagus nerve’s messenger, acetylcholine, is built from nutrients.
Most comparisons give each method one score. That hides the most important difference between them, so we grade every method twice:
Strong Good Moderate Early
Showing all 11 methods.
| Method | Science | Trials | Works in | Lasts | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slow breathingQuick | Strong | Strong | 1–2 minutes | During practice | Free |
| Cold water on the faceQuick | Strong | Good | Seconds | Minutes | Free |
| Humming, singing, garglingQuick | Moderate | Early | Minutes | Unclear | Free |
| Ear and neck massageQuick | Early | Early | Unclear | Unclear | Free |
| Stimulation devicesQuick | Good | Early | A session | Unclear | Often £150+ |
| Aerobic exerciseLong-term | Strong | Good | Weeks | While you keep it up | Free |
| Consistent sleepLong-term | Good | Good | Days to weeks | While you keep it up | Free |
| Yoga and meditationLong-term | Moderate | Moderate | During, then weeks | While you keep it up | Free or a class |
| Social connectionLong-term | Moderate | Moderate | Weeks | Unclear | Free |
| Gut healthLong-term | Good | Early | Weeks | Unclear | Food |
| Nutrition: the acetylcholine nutrientsLong-term | Strong | Moderate | Weeks | Daily baseline | Food |
Science rates how well established the biology is. Trials rates controlled studies on vagal measures. Nutrition’s trial grade is driven mainly by omega-3 research on resting heart rate.
What works fastest in a stressful moment?
In a stressful moment, the fastest vagal response comes from cold water on the face, which can slow the heart within seconds. The most reliable comes from slow breathing with a longer out-breath, which works within a minute or two. Both effects fade after you stop, so they calm a moment rather than change your baseline.
01Slow breathing, with a longer out-breath
Verdict: the best-evidenced method on this list, and the one to start with.
What the research shows. Breathing at around six breaths a minute, with the out-breath longer than the in-breath, consistently increases heart rate variability and relaxation measures. A 2018 systematic review found these effects across studies.2 At that pace, heart rate and breathing fall into step, which strengthens the vagal “brake” on the heart. This is the basis of HRV biofeedback training.3 Box breathing, 4-7-8 and the “physiological sigh” are all variations on the same idea: a slower rhythm and a long exhale.
The limits. The effect is strongest during the practice and eases afterwards. Evidence for lasting change comes from doing it regularly, not from single sessions. Fast, forceful “breathwork” styles are a different thing and don’t have the same effect.
How to try itBreathe in through your nose for 4 seconds, then out slowly for 6. Keep it quiet and low, into the belly. Five minutes, once a day, tied to something you already do, such as the kettle or your commute.
02Cold water on the face
Verdict: the fastest vagal response available, best kept for acute moments.
What the research shows. Cold on the face sets off a version of the diving reflex, a vagally driven slowing of the heart. In a clinical “cold face test” using cold packs, heart rate began to fall within about six seconds in every healthy volunteer and was slowest after about 36 seconds.4 In a randomised trial, a cold stimulus applied to the side of the neck also increased measures of vagal activity.5
The limits. It is a reflex, so it ends when the cold does. The viral versions, such as ice on the chest, have much less research behind them than the face and neck. Cold showers and ice baths are a different stimulus again and bring their own stress response.
How to try itHold your breath and put your face in a bowl of cold water for 15–30 seconds, or press a cold pack across your forehead and eyes. Cold tap water is often enough.
Take care: blood pressure also rises during the cold face response.4 Skip it if you have a heart condition, high blood pressure, a slow heart rate or a history of fainting.
03Humming, singing and gargling
Verdict: plausible and pleasant, but most of the benefit is probably the slow out-breath.
What the research shows. Branches of the vagus nerve supply the muscles of the voice box and throat, so these activities do use the nerve’s wiring. Humming and chanting also force a long, slow exhale, which is method 01 in disguise. Separately, humming raised nasal nitric oxide about fifteen-fold compared with quiet breathing out, in a small 2002 study.6 That is a real effect, but it is not a vagal one.
The limits. We could not find good-quality trials measuring what humming or gargling do to vagal activity directly. The claim that gargling “tones” the vagus nerve is untested.
How to try itA low, steady hum on every out-breath for five minutes. Low and long works better than loud. If you enjoy singing, a choir or a car journey counts.
04Ear and neck massage
Verdict: relaxing, but the specific “vagus massage” claims are largely untested.
What the research shows. The outer ear is the one place the vagus nerve comes close to the skin: a small branch supplies the bowl of the ear, which is why ear stimulation devices target it. General massage can be relaxing, and that has value in itself.
The limits. In the neck, the vagus nerve runs deep, inside a sheath alongside the carotid artery and jugular vein. Stroking the skin does not reach it. We found no good trials of the ear and neck massage routines shared online.
How to try itGentle circles in the bowl of the ear and behind the earlobe, a minute each side, as part of winding down.
Take care: never press hard on the front or side of the neck. Pressure over the carotid artery can slow the heart and cause fainting in some people.
05Vagus nerve stimulation devices
Verdict: an active research field, but the evidence in healthy people doesn’t yet match the marketing.
What the research shows. Medical vagus nerve stimulation is real medicine. A device implanted in the chest, wired to the vagus nerve in the neck, is an established treatment for some drug-resistant epilepsy and, in some countries, treatment-resistant depression.7 Consumer devices are different. They send a mild current through the skin, usually of the outer ear (transcutaneous auricular VNS) or the neck, and research into them is growing quickly.
The limits. A 2021 meta-analysis pooled 16 single-blind studies comparing ear stimulation with a sham in healthy people. It found strong evidence that ear stimulation did not change vagally mediated heart rate variability.8 Research on other outcomes, such as mood, continues, and results vary between devices and settings. Consumer devices differ widely, and not all are regulated as medical devices.
How to try itIf you already own one and find it helpful, use it as the maker directs. If you are deciding whether to buy one, try method 01 daily for a month first: it is free and better evidenced.
Take care: check with a doctor first if you have a heart condition, a pacemaker or other implant, epilepsy, or are pregnant.
Breathing, cold water, humming and devices all end the same way: the vagus nerve releases acetylcholine at your heart and gut, and that is what slows your heart and gets digestion moving. None of them supplies it. Every signal spends acetylcholine, and your body rebuilds it from nutrients, every single time.
What raises resting vagal tone over time?
Resting vagal tone, usually tracked as heart rate variability, rises most reliably with regular aerobic exercise and consistent, sufficient sleep. It rises more modestly with yoga, meditation and social connection. Underneath all of them sits nutrition: the vagus nerve builds its messenger from choline, thiamine, B5, riboflavin and magnesium, so a shortfall can hold everything else back.
06Regular aerobic exercise
Verdict: the most reliable way to raise your resting baseline, and it isn’t a “hack” at all.
What the research shows. A meta-analysis of exercise-training studies found significant increases in a vagal measure of HRV (high-frequency power) and in the time between heartbeats at rest. That slower resting heart rate is a familiar sign of fitness.9
The limits. The response was smaller in older people, and the authors noted that increased vagal activity doesn’t explain all of the slower resting heart rate.9 A hard session briefly lowers HRV, and training without recovery keeps it down.
How to try itAim for about 150 minutes a week of moderate activity where you can talk but not sing: brisk walking, cycling, swimming. A ten-minute walk after your largest meal is an easy start.
07Consistent, sufficient sleep
Verdict: the least exciting item here, and one of the most important.
What the research shows. Vagal activity normally rises during deep, non-REM sleep, which is part of why good sleep feels restoring. Short or broken sleep commonly shows up as a lower HRV and higher resting heart rate the next day, a pattern anyone with a sleep-tracking wearable can see.
The limits. Sleep and vagal activity influence each other, so it is hard to separate cause from effect. Alcohol in the evening is one of the most common reasons overnight HRV drops.
How to try itKeep the same wake time every day, weekends included. Get daylight within an hour of waking, and avoid alcohol in the three hours before bed.
08Yoga and meditation
Verdict: promising, with better evidence than the viral hacks but weaker than breathing alone.
What the research shows. A review of 59 studies found that yoga practice increased HRV and vagal dominance during sessions. Regular practitioners also had higher resting vagal tone than non-practitioners.10 Much of yoga’s effect may come from the slow breathing built into it.
The limits. The same review concluded it was premature to draw firm conclusions: most studies were small, of poor quality or short on detail.10 People who choose to do yoga may also differ from those who don’t.
How to try itA gentle class or a 15-minute session at home with slow, steady breathing. Restorative and slow-flow styles are closer to the research than fast, heated ones.
10Gut health: fibre, fermented foods and probiotics
Verdict: a fascinating area, but most of the evidence is still in animals or small trials.
What the research shows. The vagus nerve is the main direct line between the gut and the brain, and gut microbes and their products can signal along it.12 In a well-known mouse study, a Lactobacillus strain changed stress-related behaviour, and the effect disappeared when the vagus nerve was cut.13 A small 2025 randomised trial reported improved measures of vagal function after a multi-species probiotic, in people with depression and in healthy controls.14
The limits. Mouse findings often don’t carry over to people, and the human trials are small. Different probiotic strains do different things, so one result doesn’t apply to probiotics in general.
How to try itFood first: a wide variety of plant foods for fibre, plus fermented foods such as yoghurt, kefir or sauerkraut if they suit you. Eating slowly and sitting down helps digestion whatever the mechanism.
11Nutrition: the acetylcholine nutrients
Verdict: the only method on this list your vagus nerve literally cannot work without. Methods 1–10 ask the nerve to fire. Nutrition supplies what it fires with.
What the science shows. When the vagus nerve signals to your heart and gut, it releases acetylcholine. Your body builds every molecule of it from two parts: choline, and acetyl-CoA, which can only be made with thiamine (vitamin B1), helped by riboflavin, pantothenic acid and magnesium.15 This isn’t a wellness theory. It’s textbook biochemistry, and thiamine deficiency is a recognised cause of damage to the autonomic nerves serving the heart and gut.15
What the trials show. Omega-3 DHA has the strongest data: across 51 randomised trials, omega-3 supplements slowed resting heart rate, and DHA drove the effect.16 What hasn’t been done yet is a large trial testing whether topping up the B1–choline pathway raises HRV in people who aren’t deficient. Expect it to work on your baseline over weeks, not in the ten minutes after a meal.
How to try itEggs, whole grains, pulses, nuts, seeds and oily fish cover a lot of it, and every nutrient is broken down in the section below. Want the whole acetylcholine pathway covered in one daily formula? That’s exactly what we built Vagus One to do.
Which nutrients does the vagus nerve depend on?
Your vagus nerve cannot work without nutrients. Its messenger, acetylcholine, is built from choline and acetyl-CoA, and making acetyl-CoA depends on thiamine (vitamin B1), riboflavin, pantothenic acid and magnesium. Omega-3 DHA adds the strongest trial evidence, slowing resting heart rate, a measure closely tied to vagal activity.
Think of it this way. Every breathing exercise, cold splash or device session asks your vagus nerve to release acetylcholine. Nutrition is what that acetylcholine is made from. Each signal spends it, and it is broken down within milliseconds. Some of the choline is recycled, but the acetyl half has to be rebuilt from food, every single time.15 That’s why a steady daily supply matters more than an occasional big dose.
The nutrients, one by one
For each one: what it does in the pathway, where to find it, how much adults need, and how much is in Vagus One.
Thiamine (vitamin B1)
The key cofactor for pyruvate dehydrogenase, the enzyme that makes acetyl-CoA. Severe deficiency (beriberi) damages nerves, including the autonomic nerves that serve the heart and gut.15 The body stores only a small amount, so it needs a steady supply, and alcohol increases how much is used.
Choline
The other half of acetylcholine. The body makes some choline, but not enough, so most has to come from food. A 2019 UK review warned that intakes may be falling short, partly because people are eating fewer eggs and less meat.17
Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5)
The body turns it into coenzyme A, the “CoA” in acetyl-CoA. It is in so many foods (the name comes from the Greek for “from everywhere”) that deficiency is rare.
Magnesium
Needed to convert thiamine into its active form, and involved in hundreds of other enzyme reactions, including those behind nerve signalling and heart rhythm. Long-term use of proton pump inhibitors, common heartburn medicines, can lower magnesium levels.18
Riboflavin (vitamin B2)
Forms FAD, another cofactor pyruvate dehydrogenase needs to make acetyl-CoA. Riboflavin-5-phosphate is the form the body actually uses, so it doesn’t need converting first.
Omega-3 fats (EPA and DHA)
The fats in oily fish, built into the membranes of heart and nerve cells. A meta-analysis of 51 randomised trials, with around 3,000 people, found omega-3 supplements lowered resting heart rate by about two beats a minute, and the effect came from DHA rather than EPA.16 Two of its authors worked for an omega-3 manufacturer. In another trial, high-dose EPA and DHA raised resting heart rate variability in adults with high blood triglycerides.19 Resting heart rate is set largely by the vagal brake, so these findings fit a vagal effect without proving one.
Also relevant: niacin (B3), B6 and B12
Niacin is the fourth B vitamin the same enzyme complex needs. Vitamins B6 and B12 also matter for nerves, and long-term use of metformin, a common diabetes medicine, can lower B12 levels.20
Beyond the basics: the compounds in better-formulated supplements
Standard multivitamins stop at the vitamins. Formulas built around the acetylcholine pathway go further, with more absorbable forms and compounds that feed the same chemistry. Here’s what each one is.
| Compound | What it is | In Vagus One |
|---|---|---|
| Benfotiamine | A fat-soluble form of vitamin B1. In a human study it delivered about 11 times more thiamine to the blood than standard thiamine, and about twice as much of its active form inside red blood cells.21 | 200 mg |
| Citicoline (CDP-choline) | A well-absorbed choline source that delivers choline plus cytidine, widely studied in brain research. | 250 mg |
| Acetyl-L-carnitine | The acetylated form of carnitine. It carries acetyl groups, the same building block acetyl-CoA supplies. | 300 mg |
| L-theanine | An amino acid from tea leaves, studied for calm, focused alertness. | 150 mg |
| Saffron extract | A standardised extract of the saffron crocus, studied for mood. | 30 mg |
| Probiotics | Live bacteria. Effects depend on the strain, so one result doesn’t apply to all. | — |
Who is most likely to run low?
- Regular or heavy drinkers: thiamine.
- People who eat few eggs, little meat or fish, or a vegan diet: choline, vitamin B12 and omega-3 DHA.
- Older adults: vitamin B12, as absorption falls with age.
- Long-term users of proton pump inhibitors: magnesium.18
- People on long-term metformin: vitamin B12.20
- After weight-loss surgery, or with ongoing vomiting or a very restrictive diet: thiamine.
If you think you might be low in something, ask your GP about a blood test rather than guessing, and never stop or change a prescribed medicine on your own.
Everyone’s stimulating their vagus nerve. Almost nobody’s feeding it.
That’s why we made Vagus One. It’s built around the exact pathway on this page, covering both halves of acetylcholine in one daily formula.
Every dose printed. No proprietary blends, no fillers. It doesn’t replace your breathing, your cold water or your device: it supplies what they ask for. Pair it with oily fish twice a week for DHA.
★ 4.7 from 10,000+ reviews · 90-day money-back promise · from £1.22 a day
How do you build a vagus nerve routine that sticks?
Pair a quick reset with the long-term basics. Five minutes of slow breathing daily, cold water on the face for acute stress if it is safe for you, aerobic exercise three times a week, a fixed wake time and a daily supply of the acetylcholine nutrients cover everything with the strongest science.
Doing one thing daily beats doing five occasionally. Pick by the time you actually have:
| If you have | Do this | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 30 seconds, with breakfast | Vagus One, or eggs and wholegrains | Covers the nutrients acetylcholine is built from |
| 30 seconds | Cold water on the face, when stress spikes | Fastest vagal response on the list |
| 5 minutes a day | Slow breathing, 4 seconds in and 6 out | Strongest evidence, and it builds with repetition |
| 30 minutes, 3–5 times a week | Brisk walking, cycling or swimming | Best evidence for raising resting vagal tone |
| No extra time | Same wake time daily, no alcohol near bed, varied plant-rich diet | Removes the most common things that pull HRV down |
If you use a wearable, build a two-week HRV baseline on one device, then compare weekly averages rather than single nights. Don’t compare your number with anyone else’s: values differ hugely between people and devices, and fall with age. More in how to check your vagal tone at home.
Who should be careful with vagus nerve techniques?
Most of these techniques are safe for healthy adults. However, cold-water face immersion, breath holds and neck pressure can slow the heart or change blood pressure, and stimulation devices carry their own cautions. Check with a doctor first if you have a heart condition, a history of fainting, an implanted device or epilepsy, or are pregnant.
- Fainting, near-fainting or dizziness when you stand up
- A racing, very slow or irregular heartbeat, chest pain or breathlessness
- Difficulty swallowing, or hoarseness lasting more than three weeks
- Persistent vomiting, early fullness or unexplained weight loss
- Anxiety or low mood that is affecting your daily life
These need proper assessment, not vagus nerve exercises. None of the methods on this page replaces medical treatment, and you shouldn’t stop any prescribed medicine because you have started one.
Vagus nerve stimulation FAQs
What is the fastest way to stimulate the vagus nerve?
Cold water on the face is the fastest. In a clinical cold face test, heart rate began to slow within about six seconds and was slowest after about 36 seconds. Slow breathing with a long out-breath takes a minute or two, has stronger overall evidence and needs nothing but a few quiet minutes.
Can you reset your vagus nerve?
Not in the way social media suggests. No single exercise resets the vagus nerve. Quick techniques such as slow breathing or cold water briefly increase vagal activity, and regular habits such as exercise, good sleep and breathing practice can raise resting vagal tone over weeks. The change comes from repetition, not a one-off hack.
Do vagus nerve stimulators work?
Implanted vagus nerve stimulators are an established medical treatment for some drug-resistant epilepsy and depression. Consumer ear devices are different. A 2021 meta-analysis of 16 sham-controlled studies in healthy people found strong evidence that ear stimulation did not change vagally mediated heart rate variability. Research on other outcomes continues, with mixed results.
How long does it take to improve vagal tone?
Quick techniques change vagal activity within seconds to minutes, but the effect fades afterwards. Changes in resting vagal tone, measured as heart rate variability, usually take several weeks of consistent habits such as aerobic exercise, regular sleep and daily slow breathing. Track a weekly average against your own baseline rather than single readings.
Does humming stimulate the vagus nerve?
Possibly, but it has not been studied well. The vagus nerve supplies muscles of the voice box and throat, and humming forces a long, slow out-breath, which is known to increase vagal activity. Humming also raises nitric oxide in the nose about fifteen-fold. Direct studies of humming on vagal measures are scarce.
What is the best supplement for the vagus nerve?
Look for one that covers both halves of acetylcholine, the vagus nerve’s messenger: a choline source such as citicoline, plus thiamine (ideally with benfotiamine), pantothenic acid, riboflavin and magnesium, all at printed doses. Yona’s Vagus One is formulated around exactly this pathway. For DHA, add oily fish or an omega-3.
Can supplements stimulate the vagus nerve?
No. Supplements don’t stimulate the vagus nerve; they supply it. The nerve builds its messenger, acetylcholine, from choline and acetyl-CoA, which depends on thiamine, pantothenic acid, riboflavin and magnesium. Stimulation methods ask the nerve to fire, and nutrition provides what it fires with. The two work best together.
References
- Laborde S, Mosley E, Thayer JF. Heart rate variability and cardiac vagal tone in psychophysiological research. Front Psychol. 2017;8:213. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00213
- Zaccaro A, Piarulli A, Laurino M, et al. How breath-control can change your life: a systematic review on psycho-physiological correlates of slow breathing. Front Hum Neurosci. 2018;12:353. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2018.00353
- Lehrer PM, Gevirtz R. Heart rate variability biofeedback: how and why does it work? Front Psychol. 2014;5:756. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00756
- Khurana RK, Wu R. The cold face test: a non-baroreflex mediated test of cardiac vagal function. Clin Auton Res. 2006;16(3):202–207. doi:10.1007/s10286-006-0332-9
- Jungmann M, Vencatachellum S, Van Ryckeghem D, Vögele C. Effects of cold stimulation on cardiac-vagal activation in healthy participants: randomized controlled trial. JMIR Form Res. 2018;2(2):e10257. doi:10.2196/10257
- Weitzberg E, Lundberg JON. Humming greatly increases nasal nitric oxide. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2002;166(2):144–145. doi:10.1164/rccm.200202-138BC
- Johnson RL, Wilson CG. A review of vagus nerve stimulation as a therapeutic intervention. J Inflamm Res. 2018;11:203–213. doi:10.2147/JIR.S163248
- Wolf V, Kühnel A, Teckentrup V, Koenig J, Kroemer NB. Does transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation affect vagally mediated heart rate variability? A living and interactive Bayesian meta-analysis. Psychophysiology. 2021;58(11):e13933. doi:10.1111/psyp.13933
- Sandercock GR, Bromley PD, Brodie DA. Effects of exercise on heart rate variability: inferences from meta-analysis. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2005;37(3):433–439. doi:10.1249/01.MSS.0000155388.39002.9D
- Tyagi A, Cohen M. Yoga and heart rate variability: a comprehensive review of the literature. Int J Yoga. 2016;9(2):97–113. doi:10.4103/0973-6131.183712
- Kok BE, Fredrickson BL. Upward spirals of the heart: autonomic flexibility, as indexed by vagal tone, reciprocally and prospectively predicts positive emotions and social connectedness. Biol Psychol. 2010;85(3):432–436. doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2010.09.005
- Bonaz B, Bazin T, Pellissier S. The vagus nerve at the interface of the microbiota–gut–brain axis. Front Neurosci. 2018;12:49. doi:10.3389/fnins.2018.00049
- Bravo JA, Forsythe P, Chew MV, et al. Ingestion of Lactobacillus strain regulates emotional behavior and central GABA receptor expression in a mouse via the vagus nerve. PNAS. 2011;108(38):16050–16055. doi:10.1073/pnas.1102999108
- Mörkl S, et al. Multi-species probiotic supplement enhances vagal nerve function: results of a randomized controlled trial in patients with depression and healthy controls. Gut Microbes. 2025;17(1):2492377. doi:10.1080/19490976.2025.2492377
- Overton E, Emelyanova A, Bunik VI. Thiamine, gastrointestinal beriberi and acetylcholine signaling. Front Nutr. 2025;12:1541054. PMC12014454
- Hidayat K, Yang J, Zhang Z, et al. Effect of omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation on heart rate: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2018;72(6):805–817. doi:10.1038/s41430-017-0052-3
- Derbyshire E. Could we be overlooking a potential choline crisis in the United Kingdom? BMJ Nutr Prev Health. 2019;2(2):86–89. doi:10.1136/bmjnph-2019-000037
- Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. Proton pump inhibitors in long-term use: reports of hypomagnesaemia. Drug Safety Update. gov.uk
- Sauder KA, Skulas-Ray AC, Campbell TS, Johnson JA, Kris-Etherton PM, West SG. Effects of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on heart rate variability at rest and during acute stress in adults with moderate hypertriglyceridemia. Psychosom Med. 2013;75(4):382–389. doi:10.1097/PSY.0b013e318290a107
- Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. Metformin and reduced vitamin B12 levels: new advice for monitoring patients at risk. Drug Safety Update. 2022. gov.uk
- Xie F, Cheng Z, Li S, et al. Pharmacokinetic study of benfotiamine and the bioavailability assessment compared to thiamine hydrochloride. J Clin Pharmacol. 2014;54(6):688–695. doi:10.1002/jcph.261
Last reviewed on 24 September 2026. Part of our guide to the vagus nerve. Every method is graded on the published research, on the same scale we use across the guide, and every factual claim links to a source. Spotted something out of date, or a study we missed? Email hello@meetyona.co.uk.
Disclosure: Yona makes nervous-system nutrition supplements, including Vagus One. Vagus One is featured in the nutrition sections of this guide. The science and trials grades are applied to methods, not products, and the page contains no paid placements.
This guide is for general information and is not medical advice. Speak to your GP or pharmacist before trying a new technique or supplement if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or managing a health condition.
09Social connection and positive emotion
Verdict: rarely mentioned in vagus nerve content, with a genuinely interesting evidence base.
What the research shows. In one study, people with higher vagal tone went on to report more positive emotions and a greater sense of social connection. Those gains in turn predicted a rise in their vagal tone, an “upward spiral”.11
The limits. This is a small body of research, and relationships like these are hard to prove as cause and effect.
How to try itRegular, unhurried time with people you feel safe with. A walk with a friend combines this with method 06.