When we think about the benefits of exercise, we often focus on the big wins: lowering A1C levels, crushing our personal best 10K time, making new friends on the pickleball court, or swapping bad habits for healthier ones.
But there’s one powerful benefit that often gets overlooked—exercise for vagus nerve stimulation.
And it’s a big one. The vagus nerve is the key player in our parasympathetic nervous system, which controls the “rest and digest” response. This system helps the body return to a state of balance after stress, meals, or workouts.
Before we dive into how exercise activates the vagus nerve and which activities are best, let’s first understand why this connection is so important.
An Unhealthy Cycle: Chronic Stress & Poor Vagal Tone
To understand the relationship between exercise and vagus nerve stimulation, let’s use a simple metaphor:
The sympathetic nervous system (your fight-or-flight response) acts like a gas pedal, fueling energy, stress hormones, and alertness. Your vagus nerve is the brake, slowing things down so your body can recover and reset.
But when stress is constant, the brake stops working. Cortisol stays high, adrenaline keeps firing, and your body remains stuck in overdrive. Over time, this wears down the vagus nerve, leading to poor vagal tone, which can contribute to:[1]
- Increased heart rate & blood pressure
- Weakened immune function
- Digestive issues
- Anxiety & mood imbalances
When vagal tone is strong, your body bounces back from stress faster—a key part of stress resilience.[2] That’s where exercise for vagus nerve stimulation comes in. The right types of movement help strengthen vagal tone, improve heart rate variability (HRV), and restore balance, keeping your nervous system functioning at its best.
How Exercise Stimulates the Vagus Nerve
Not all exercises are created equal when it comes to vagus nerve stimulation. While deep breathing, gargling, and using a vagus nerve stimulator are well-known methods, certain physical activities can also play a powerful role in strengthening vagal tone and promoting relaxation. Here’s how:
- Goodbye, Cortisol. When vagal tone is low, cortisol remains high, keeping your body in stress mode.[3] Over time, this can lead to fatigue, mood imbalances, and even chronic health issues.
Regular moderate exercise helps break the cycle. It naturally lowers cortisol, improves mental resilience, and stabilizes mood and energy levels. The more consistent your movement routine, the stronger your vagal tone, ensuring your body can shift out of stress and into recovery with ease.
- Feel the Rhythm. Rhythmic movement is a powerful way to activate the vagus nerve. Think about the steady cadence of your steps during a morning walk—left, right, left, right. This repeated motion signals the parasympathetic nervous system, helping your body shift into a state of relaxation and recovery.
From childhood games to structured workouts, rhythm-based movement has always played a role in developing a healthy nervous system. Whether it’s walking, swimming, or cycling, these activities naturally stimulate the vagus nerve, supporting better stress resilience and overall well-being.[4]
- Rev Up HRV. Heart rate variability (HRV) is one of the best indicators of vagal tone[5]—it measures the variation in time between heartbeats. A higher HRV means a more responsive vagus nerve, better stress recovery, and stronger nervous system adaptability.
Regular physical activity has been shown in studies to increase HRV, reinforcing the connection between exercise and vagus nerve function.[6] A high HRV isn’t just a marker of good health—it’s a sign of resilience. Those with higher HRV can bounce back from stress faster, staying balanced even when life activates their fight-or-flight response.
Best Types of Exercise for Vagus Nerve Stimulation
Activating your vagus nerve can be as easy as singing in the shower or as intense as a full-body workout. (If you’re curious about non-exercise techniques for stimulating the vagus nerve, check out our dedicated blog here.) The key is balance—engaging in movement that stimulates the vagus nerve while allowing your body to shift out of stress and into recovery. Here are some of the best exercises to make it happen:
- Aerobic Exercise
Cardio and aerobic exercise do more than just improve heart health and endurance—they also help activate the vagus nerve by increasing heart rate variability (HRV) and stimulating rhythmic breathing patterns. Activities like walking, running, rowing, biking, and swimming create consistent, repetitive movements that engage the parasympathetic nervous system, signaling the vagus nerve to help regulate heart rate, lower stress hormones and promote relaxation.
But the real magic happens after your workout. As your heart rate slows and breathing deepens, the vagus nerve kicks in to restore balance, shifting your body into “rest and digest” mode—reducing cortisol, improving mood, and supporting recovery.Moderate-intensity cardio is ideal for vagus nerve activation, but overtraining can have the opposite effect—lowering HRV and keeping the body in a prolonged stress state.[7] To maximize benefits without overstressing the nervous system, try high-intensity interval training (HIIT), which naturally integrates rest and recovery, keeping HRV and vagal tone in check.[8]
- Mindful Movement
Not every exercise for vagus nerve stimulation will cause you to break a sweat. In fact, many don’t even require sneakers. Activities such as yoga, pilates, and Tai Chi are known to calm the nervous system.[9] These practices engage the parasympathetic nervous system through intentional movement, body awareness, and breathwork, all of which help increase vagal tone and regulate stress responses.
One of the most effective tools? Deep breathing. When done correctly, expanding the belly on inhale and fully exhaling, breathwork naturally stimulates the vagus nerve, helping to lower heart rate, improve HRV, and promote relaxation.[10]
- Moderate Resistance Training
Powerlifting to beat your personal best is a one-way ticket to the fight-or-flight-inducing, sympathetic nervous system. However, a light-to-moderate resistance training routine does the opposite—it helps increase heart rate variability (HRV), strengthen vagal tone, and promote overall nervous system balance.You don’t need a gym full of equipment to get the benefits. Resistance bands, dumbbells, or even bodyweight exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, and planks can effectively engage the vagus nerve while improving strength, stability, and recovery.
How Truvaga Complements Your Exercise Routine
A strong vagus nerve is key to reducing stress, promoting calm, and improving sleep—and while exercise is one way to activate it, the best approach is a balanced one. Combining movement, breathwork, and advanced technology can help optimize your nervous system for consistent, lasting benefits.
That’s where Truvaga’s handheld vagus nerve stimulators come in. Unlike exercise, which can vary in effectiveness based on intensity, consistency, and individual response, Truvaga delivers precise, reliable vagus nerve stimulation every time.
Truvaga 350 & Truvaga Plus offer:
- Fast, 2-minute sessions
- Handheld convenience
- Clinically-studied technology & drug-free therapy
Pairing Truvaga with your workouts helps you recover faster, optimize HRV, and deepen relaxation after exercise. Just as your nervous system thrives on balance, so does your wellness routine—blending physical activity with targeted vagus nerve stimulation creates a powerful synergy for stress resilience and overall well-being.
Ready to take your exercise and recovery to the next level? Try Truvaga and experience the difference for yourself.
Sources
[1] Mayo Clinic. (n.d.). Stress management. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress/art-20046037
[2] Mayo Clinic Staff. (n.d.). Chronic stress puts your health at risk. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress/art-20046037
[3] Davidson, K., & Hobbs, H. (2024, January 29). 11 natural ways to lower your cortisol levels. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/ways-to-lower-cortisol
[4] Long, C. (n.d.). How the parasympathetic nervous system can lower stress. Hospital for Special Surgery. https://www.hss.edu/article_parasympathetic-nervous-system.asp
[5] Capilupi, M. J., Kerath, S. M., & Becker, L. B. (2020). Vagus nerve stimulation and the cardiovascular system. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine, 10(2), a034173. https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a034173
[6] Routledge, F. S., Campbell, T. S., McFetridge-Durdle, J. A., & Bacon, S. L. (2010). Improvements in heart rate variability with exercise therapy. The Canadian Journal of Cardiology, 26(6), 303–312. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0828-282x(10)70395-0
[7] Bergland, C. (2023, September 30). Surprising ways the vagus nerve activates during exercise. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/the-athletes-way/202309/surprising-ways-the-vagus-nerve-activates-during-exercise
[8] Driscoll, D. (2019, August 8). Athletes and the vagus nerve. Vagus Nerve Support. https://vagusnervesupport.com/athletes-inflammation-vagus-nerve/
[9] Salladin, C. (n.d.). Exploring vagus nerve exercises for neurodivergent adults. NeuroSpark Health. https://www.neurosparkhealth.com/blog/exploring-vagus-nerve-exercises-for-neurodivergent-adults
[10] Fowler, P. (2024, March 5). Breathing techniques for stress relief. WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/stress-relief-breathing-techniques
