Why is Vagus Nerve Health So Important For Our Kids?

The Vagus Nerve is all the craze right now! Any search on google will generate thousands of hits with life and “health hacks” galore.  With all the research, biohacking, and natural science that has been reported lately, it's cool to hear about a part of our nervous system that can have such an amazing impact on our health and adaptability.

But did you know the vagus nerve is also very important for our kid's development, behavior, and sensory comfort? As pediatric chiropractors, we would be remiss if we didn't talk about the vagus nerve and how it can help you and your kiddos, because it really is the answer to so many of our health challenges!

What Is the Vagus Nerve?

The vagus nerve is a nerve that begins from underneath the skull on both sides and goes throughout the entire body - through the heart, lungs, and digestive organs. You may have heard about the vagus nerve in relation to the brain-gut or gut-brain balance, which has much to do with digestion. While that is one of the incredible things the vagus nerve can do, it has more all-encompassing action that's so important for our kids.

If you “turn up” the vagus nerve, it acts as a sensory relaxer and will help the body rest, relax, and digest. If you “turn down” the vagus nerve, it allows the other side of the nervous system to take effect -  the go, go go, fight or flight, busy brain side.

What we want to see is a balance of up and down regulation. This shows us that the body is able to adapt to its environment and stressors with ease. However, what we typically see in our office are kiddos with vagus nerves that are stuck in it’s “turned down” mode. This leads to stressed and worn out nervous systems, causing a host of issues for these kiddos and their families.

Rest, Digest, Regulate

When we help “turn up” the vagus nerve, it results in three effects on our kids. Number one is rest and sleep. The vagus nerve allows the body to sensory deregulate to help the body block out all external noise. This allows the brain and body to calm down, which helps kids get to sleep and stay asleep.

The second thing is emotional regulation. When our body is turned down on the vagus, it feels like you’re running from a bear in fight or flight. This explains why a three-year-old can go haywire sometimes, because their emotions are controlled by that up or down regulation.

The third has to do with our digestive function. There's so much more that goes into that brain-gut connection. Not only is digestion so key for moving fluids throughout the body, but it's huge in feeling comfortable and developmentally ready for kids.

This digestion piece is especially important if you have a kiddo who is six months to a year old. At this phase, they're working on walking, talking, adding in foods, and are starting to get away from bottle or breastfeeding. If their digestive function is affected, it's going to slow everything else down. Vagus nerve health is vital for babies as a developmental milestone to help them jump ahead with the sensory system, motor system, movement, social system, and walking. 

3 Main Factors

Because of where the vagus nerve is located, it can be impacted in a negative way by three main things 

1) Birth Trauma: If you had a stressful pregnancy or delivery, had to use forceps or a vacuum, or had a C-section, that can impact and turn down the vagus nerve immediately during the birth process. 

2) Toxins: Toxins within our environment can affect our gut, which communicates back and forth with our brain. If the gut and brain are imbalanced, it will cause the body to turn the vagus nerve down, resulting in that flight or flight mode.

3) Stress: Physical and emotional stress affects the vagus nerve. This includes accidents, injuries, heavy emotional circumstances, high stress environments, and even something as seemingly insignificant as a kid scraping their knee after falling off their bike.

So if you or your kids are struggling with sleep, emotional regulation, digestion, etc, and you are trusting your gut that they’re all related… you're right! That is because it is all controlled by the vagus nerve. 

How We Can Help

At Apex, we use technology in our office called INSiGHT scans to measure the vagus nerve and see whether it is turned up or down. If it is more turned up, chances are you are going to have a much easier, well-regulated rest, digest, chill kiddo that can adapt and overcome a lot of things.

If it’s turned down, they most likely want to do those things but might struggle to get them done. That's where we come in, and we really want to help! We know that every kiddo is unique and will put together a custom care plan to help your child reach their full potential.