Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) and Heart Rate Variability (HRV)

Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) and Heart Rate Variability (HRV)

We often think of stress as something that happens in our heads — a mental feeling. But stress lives in the body too, and how your body responds to it is not only real, but also measurable and changeable.

That’s where Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) come in. These two simple tools — one that shows how your body is doing, and one that helps support it — offer a clearer picture of how we handle the demands of daily life. Together, they can help you build more resilience, feel calmer, and support your long-term well-being.

What Is HRV?

HRV stands for heart rate variability. It’s a way of measuring how much time passes between your heartbeats — not just the number of beats per minute, but how much variation there is from one beat to the next.

Why does that matter? Because a healthy, flexible nervous system doesn’t keep your heart ticking like a metronome. Instead, it constantly adjusts to your needs — slowing down or speeding up in response to what’s happening both around and inside of you.

In general:

• A higher HRV means your body is in a more relaxed, responsive state.
• A lower HRV can be a sign that your body is under pressure or running on overdrive.

In simple terms, HRV gives you a way to know how well your body is handling stress, recovering, and maintaining balance — even if you feel “fine” on the surface.

What Is the Vagus Nerve?

The vagus nerve is one of the most important nerves in the body. It helps control your breathing, heart rate, digestion, immune response, and even your mood. You can think of it as a key part of your body’s natural calming system.

When your vagus nerve is working well, you tend to feel steady, grounded, and more in control. When it’s underactive or overwhelmed, you might feel tense, anxious, scattered, or stuck in stress mode.

What is VNS?

Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) is a gentle way to activate your body’s natural relaxation response by stimulating the vagus nerve through the skin — often around the ear. This sends calming signals through the body, helping shift you out of stress mode and back into a more balanced state.

VNS has been shown to:

• Calm the stress response
• Support digestion
• Improve sleep quality
• Help with mental clarity and mood
• Encourage your body’s natural healing state

It’s non-invasive, easy to use, and works in harmony with the body’s built-in systems — making it a great tool for anyone looking to feel better and stay well.

Why HRV and VNS Work So Well Together

One of the most powerful things about using HRV and VNS together is that they create a helpful loop:

• HRV gives you insight into how your body is doing.
• VNS gives you a way to respond and support your body when it needs help.

For example, if your HRV tends to run low, it could be a sign that your nervous system is running too hot, too often. Using VNS regularly — especially along with breathing exercises or moments of quiet — can help bring the body back into a calmer, more restful state.

Over time, this can help your HRV improve, which means your body is becoming more resilient, better able to recover, and more prepared to handle stress in a healthy way.

We live in a world that constantly pushes us into “go mode.” But real health isn’t just about pushing harder — it’s about knowing when to pause, reset, and recover.

With the help of tools like HRV and VNS, you can tune into your body’s signals, understand how you’re really doing beneath the surface, and make small, supportive changes that build up over time.

These aren’t just tools for when something’s wrong — they’re tools for helping everything go right. And when your nervous system is in sync, everything else — energy, mood, sleep, digestion — tends to follow.

Because the more we learn to listen to our body, the better we feel. And that’s what real health is all about.