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cover of episode Control Your Vagus Nerve to Improve Mood, Alertness & Neuroplasticity

Control Your Vagus Nerve to Improve Mood, Alertness & Neuroplasticity

2025/6/23
logo of podcast Huberman Lab

Huberman Lab
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A
Andrew Huberman
是一位专注于神经科学、学习和健康的斯坦福大学教授和播客主持人。
Topics
Andrew Huberman: 迷走神经（第10颅神经）是连接大脑和身体的重要通路，它不仅仅是一条简单的神经连接，而是一个复杂的系统，覆盖了从头部到腹部的广泛区域。它既包含感觉神经元，负责将身体各器官的化学和机械信息传递到大脑；也包含运动神经元，负责将大脑的指令传递到身体各器官，从而影响身体的各种功能。迷走神经的功能远不止于传统认为的“放松和消化”，它还参与调节警觉性、情绪、学习能力，甚至免疫系统。通过特定的方法激活迷走神经的不同分支，可以实现不同的效果，例如提高警觉性、快速冷静、改善情绪和增强学习能力。因此，了解迷走神经的结构和功能，以及如何有针对性地调控它，对于改善身心健康至关重要。我希望通过本期节目，能够帮助大家更好地理解迷走神经，并掌握一些实用的技巧，从而更好地掌控自己的身心状态。

Deep Dive

Chapters
The vagus nerve, cranial nerve X, is an extensive neural pathway linking the brain and body. It's highly actionable, offering tools to improve alertness, calm, mood, and learning. Recent research has revealed more detail about its pathways and how to stimulate it.
  • The vagus nerve is a vast network connecting the brain and body.
  • It's highly actionable, offering ways to improve mood, relaxation, and alertness.
  • Recent research provides actionable tools for vagus nerve control.

Shownotes Transcript

In this episode I explain how your vagus nerve—an extensive neural pathway linking your brain and body in both directions—powerfully regulates your mood, digestion, alertness and even certain food cravings, and I explain how you can activate certain vagus nerve pathways to improve your heart rate variability (HRV), a key marker of health and longevity. I also explain how to control vagal pathways to enhance your focus and alertness to improve learning and neuroplasticity. And I explain how your vagus nerve controls levels of serotonin in both your gut and brain, impacting your mood and emotional resilience and how to keep that pathway robust.

Read the episode show notes at hubermanlab.com).

Thank you to our sponsors

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Timestamps

00:00:00 Vagus Nerve

00:02:43 Sponsors: LMNT & Joovv

00:05:41 Cranial Nerves, Inputs (Afferents) & Outputs (Efferents), Sensory & Motor

00:12:40 Vagus Nerve & Sensory Pathways, Body & Brain

00:18:30 Sensory Information, Chemical & Mechanical Information

00:23:49 Sympathetic & Parasympathetic Nervous Systems, Vagus Nerve, Tool: Calming & Auricular (Ear) Sensation

00:30:19 Sponsors: AG1 & ROKA

00:33:38 Vagus Nerve Motor Outputs

00:36:00 Autoregulation, Improving Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Tools: HR Deceleration

00:49:46 Aging, Declining HRV, Health, Activity, Tool

00:52:31 Tool: Exercise, Increase Alertness for Cognitive & Physical Activity, Motivation

01:04:26 Sponsor: Function

01:06:14 Adult Neuroplasticity & Learning, Acetylcholine, Alpha GPC Nicotine

01:11:48 Tools: High-Intensity Exercise, Increase Alertness, Focus & Learning; Sleep

01:18:14 Serotonin, Gut, Brain & Mood, Depression & SSRIs

01:21:34 Serotonin, Improve Mood & Gut Health, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Tools: Low-Sugar Fermented Foods, Tryptophan

01:28:49 Mood, Depression, Gut Health & Vagal Signaling, Probiotics

01:32:12 Calming Down via Vagus Nerve, Tool: Neck Peri-Arterial Vagus Stretch

01:42:00 Tools: Calming Down, Humming, Extended Exhales

01:46:38 Recap

01:48:46 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow & Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Protocols Book, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter

Disclaimer & Disclosures)

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