Lorwen Harris Nagle, PhD Profile picture
Apr 20 10 tweets 3 min read Read on X
A dysregulated vagus nerve keeps your body stuck in chronic stress.

Insomnia, brain fog, weight gain, and anxiety.

Here are the 7 ways I trust most to reset it naturally
(and get your energy back):

1. 1-3 minute cold plunges Image
Image
1. Cold exposure

Cold can help shift your body out of stress mode fast.

How to do it:
• start with 30 seconds
• build to 2–3 minutes
• use slow, longer exhales
2. Breathwork

Breathwork is one of the fastest ways to calm a nervous system stuck in stress.

The most important rule:
make your exhales longer than your inhales.

Try:

• 4-7-8 breathing
• alternate nostril breathing
• slow belly breathing for 2–5 minutes
3. Sleep

By far the easiest way to heal your vagus nerve.

A study conducted on various sleep positions found:

Subjects who slept on their right side stimulated their vagus nerve the most.

And those who slept on their back did the worst.
4. Meditation

Meditation helps shift your body out of stress mode and into regulation.

I prefer walking meditation:
go outside for 20 minutes with no phone, no music, no distractions.

You can also sit quietly and focus on the feeling of the breath at your upper lip.

When your mind wanders, gently bring it back.

Start with 5 minutes. Build to 20+.
5. Humming or singing

These vibrations can stimulate the vagus nerve through muscles in the throat and inner ear.

Try this:

• sing for 10–15 minutes a day
• hum while driving or walking
• use low, resonant tones
• gargle to bring out deeper guttural tones
6. Social connection

Safe, positive connection helps regulate the vagus nerve.

What to do:

• laugh more (with others)
• practice gratitude
• choose quality (over quantity)
• avoid toxic relationships
• have meaningful conversations

Loneliness doesn’t just hurt emotionally.
It can keep your nervous system stuck in stress.
7. Gentle movement

If you’re already burnt out, too much intensity can push your nervous system further into stress.

Focus on movement that restores instead of drains.

What to do:

• walk in nature
• do yoga or tai chi
• try light swimming

The goal isn’t more strain. It’s helping your body come out of defense.
If you’re exhausted, wired, and not recovering the way you should, don’t just chase more hacks.

Start at the root.

My free email course, The Imaginal Path to Anxiety Release, walks you through a deeper way to begin — including drawing as part of the process:
offers.lorwenharrisnagle.com/imaginal-path-…
If you found this post interesting, retweet and follow me @lorwen108

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Lorwen Harris Nagle, PhD

Lorwen Harris Nagle, PhD Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @LORWEN108

Apr 18
Anxiety is NOT just a thinking problem.

It LIVES in your nervous system.

Here are 9 body-based ways to release it (without meds): 🧵

1. Cold water on your face. Image
Image
1. Cold water on your face activates the vagus nerve.

It triggers the mammalian diving reflex → increases parasympathetic (vagal) activity and slows your heart rate, which helps interrupt panic attacks.

Cold water also signals GABAergic release, giving you a quick, refreshing, invigorating feeling. It's a sure-fire way to interrupt negative thought loops.
2. Slow exhales stop the fight-or-flight response-- in seconds.

Long exhales increase respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and vagal calming. Your entire body relaxes, and visual clarity is restored.

This often increases HRV and shifts autonomic balance away from the fight-or-flight response.
Read 12 tweets
Apr 17
6 signs your body is holding sadness it never got to cry out: 🧵

1. You feel pressure in your chest for no clear reason.
Not all chest pressure is anxiety.

Sometimes it is sadness the body never got to fully release.
2. You get irritated when you are actually hurt.

When crying gets blocked, pain often comes out sideways.

What should have come out as sadness comes out as defensiveness, agitation, or anger instead.
Read 9 tweets
Apr 13
Anxiety isn’t just in your head.

It’s stored in your nervous system.

Here are 9 body-based ways to release it (without medication) 🧵

1. Cold water on your face. Image
Image
1. Cold water on your face activates the vagus nerve.

It triggers the mammalian diving reflex → increases parasympathetic (vagal) activity and slows your heart rate, which helps interrupt panic attacks.

Cold water also signals GABAergic release, giving you a quick, refreshing, invigorating feeling. It's a sure-fire way to interrupt negative thought loops.
2. Slow exhales stop the fight-or-flight response-- in seconds.

Long exhales increase respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and vagal calming. Your entire body relaxes, and visual clarity is restored.

This often increases HRV and shifts autonomic balance away from the fight-or-flight response.
Read 12 tweets
Apr 10
You’re not lazy, lost, or broken.

You may be living a life that no longer belongs to you.

Carl Jung saw 6 signs you’ve drifted away from your real path: 🧵 Image
Carl Jung identified 2 distinct life phases:

- 1st half: Build your life, achieve goals, & establish your identity.
- 2nd half: Find meaning, integrate your shadow, & seek wholeness.

Many midlife crises occur when people cling to the 1st half of life—too long.
2/ Your purpose evolves as you do...

- The ambitious entrepreneur might need to become a mentor.
- The dedicated parent might need to rediscover their individual identity.

Jung taught that psychological growth continues throughout life—if we're willing.

And, the big question is: Can you let go and allow the 2nd half of life guide you?
Read 13 tweets
Apr 9
This is Dr. Gabor Maté.

He went on Joe Rogan & revealed nearly 65% of U.S. adults take prescription drugs.

That’s disturbing for one reason:

We may be medicating the consequences of modern life instead of fixing what’s making people sick.

Here are 5 shocking findings:
1. “Normal” is making us sick.

We call it normal to be rushed, distracted, emotionally shut down, and too busy to really be with each other.

But Maté’s whole point is that many of our “normal” conditions are biologically abnormal for human beings.

And when disconnection becomes normal, we call it adulthood.

That leads to #2...
2. The body experiences disconnection as danger.

For Maté, loneliness isn’t just sad.

It’s stressful.

And when stress becomes chronic, biology shifts:

inflammation rises, immunity weakens, and the body starts paying the price for unmet human needs.

That leads to #3.
Read 9 tweets
Apr 3
7 signs you’re not anxious — you’re stuck in an overthinking + people-pleasing trauma loop:

1. Waking at 3–4 AM
Your eyes fly open.
Your body feels alert before your feet hit the floor.

Then the scan begins:

What did I say wrong?
What might go wrong tomorrow?
Who might be upset with me?

That’s not anxiety.

That’s a nervous system that never learned how to power down.

And if that goes unchecked, it leads to sign #2…
2. Jaw clenching.

Teeth grinding.
Tight face.
Tongue pressed to the roof of your mouth.

This is what suppression feels like in the body.

People-pleasing isn’t kindness.

It’s the strain of holding back what feels too dangerous to say.

And when that stays trapped in the body, it turns into sign #3…
Read 13 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(