Stress, tiredness and anxiety can be mitigated with a little trick: drink some ice cold water. The brief internal shock caused by the liquid is able to activate the vagus nerve and generate some improvementsincluding heart rate. However, vagus nerve stimulation is by no means magical. It’s just the application of a knowledge about the physiological mechanism of the body and the behavior of the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is the longest of the cranial nerves that originate in the brain and extend into the abdomen. In this path it passes through the heart, lungs and even some organs of the digestive system. When the vagus nerve is active and “toned,” it helps the body perform several functions, such as swallowing, breathing, maintaining a heart rate, digestion, regulating emotions and controlling pain, he explains. Ilene Ruhoy, neurologist at Mount Sinai South Hospital Nassau, USA for the Woman’s World website. The secret of the vagus nerve to be involved in so many operations lies in its direct connection with the central nervous system (CNS). Indeed, it is this nerve that transmits sensory information about the state of these organs. In practice, it is able to know how full an individual’s stomach is. Now, when the vagus nerve stops performing its functions, the communication between the brain and the body suffers. This implies some neurological consequences, such as fatigue, mental fog, anxiety and bad mood. In a relationship whose cause and origin are difficult to know, daily stresses also cause the vagus nerve to weaken, as he explains Paul Spector, psychiatrist and director of the Pantheon Medicine organization.
On the other hand, inducing the organism to a moderate stress level, controlled and punctual is able to neutralize the negative effects associated with the weakening of the vagus nerve. It is the case of drink cold water, which forces the body to positively adapt to this stress factor, normalizing and regulating the internal temperature. This mechanism is known as orme. In response to heat stress, the vagus nerve is activated and, in parallel, the levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, decrease in the blood due to the activity commanded by the nervous system. Looking for ways to lower their heart rate, researchers at National Yang-Ming University in Taiwan asked more than 50 volunteers to drink 250ml (one glass) of ice cold water. The very simple measure was effective in reducing the activity of the heart, and part of the explanation lies in the activation of the vagus nerve. Published in the scientific journal Clinical Autonomic Research, the study reveals that vagus nerve activity increased by 39% in people who drank a glass of ice water. The most likely hypothesis is that cold water activates nerve endings in the esophagus, activating the nerve and, in turn, leads to a reduction in heart rate. This induces a feeling of calmer and less stress.
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