Control Your Vagus Nerve to Improve Mood, Alertness & Neuroplasticity

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 sponsorsAG1: https://drinkag1.com/hubermanLMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/hubermanJoovv: https://joovv.com/hubermanROKA: https://roka.com/hubermanFunction: https://functionhealth.com/hubermanTimestamps00:00:00 Vagus Nerve00:02:43 Sponsors: LMNT & Joovv00:05:41 Cranial Nerves, Inputs (Afferents) & Outputs (Efferents), Sensory & Motor 00:12:40 Vagus Nerve & Sensory Pathways, Body & Brain00:18:30 Sensory Information, Chemical & Mechanical Information00:23:49 Sympathetic & Parasympathetic Nervous Systems, Vagus Nerve, Tool: Calming & Auricular (Ear) Sensation00:30:19 Sponsors: AG1 & ROKA00:33:38 Vagus Nerve Motor Outputs00:36:00 Autoregulation, Improving Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Tools: HR Deceleration00:49:46 Aging, Declining HRV, Health, Activity, Tool00:52:31 Tool: Exercise, Increase Alertness for Cognitive & Physical Activity, Motivation01:04:26 Sponsor: Function01:06:14 Adult Neuroplasticity & Learning, Acetylcholine, Alpha GPC Nicotine 01:11:48 Tools: High-Intensity Exercise, Increase Alertness, Focus & Learning; Sleep01:18:14 Serotonin, Gut, Brain & Mood, Depression & SSRIs01:21:34 Serotonin, Improve Mood & Gut Health, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Tools: Low-Sugar Fermented Foods, Tryptophan01:28:49 Mood, Depression, Gut Health & Vagal Signaling, Probiotics01:32:12 Calming Down via Vagus Nerve, Tool: Neck Peri-Arterial Vagus Stretch01:42:00 Tools: Calming Down, Humming, Extended Exhales01:46:38 Recap01:48:46 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow & Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Protocols Book, Social Media, Neural Network NewsletterDisclaimer & DisclosuresLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Huberman Lab podcast is hosted by Andrew Huberman, Ph.D., a neuroscientist and tenured professor in the department of neurobiology, and by courtesy, psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford School of Medicine. The podcast discusses neuroscience and science-based tools, including how our brain and its connections with the organs of our body control our perceptions, our behaviors, and our health, as well as existing and emerging tools for measuring and changing how our nervous system works.
Huberman has made numerous significant contributions to the fields of brain development, brain function, and neural plasticity, which is the ability of our nervous system to rewire and learn new behaviors, skills, and cognitive functioning. He is a McKnight Foundation and Pew Foundation Fellow and was awarded the Cogan Award, given to the scientist making the most significant discoveries in the study of vision, in 2017.
Work from the Huberman Laboratory at Stanford School of Medicine has been published in top journals, including Nature, Science, and Cell, and has been featured in TIME, BBC, Scientific American, Discover, and other top media outlets.
In 2021, Dr. Huberman launched the Huberman Lab podcast. The podcast is frequently ranked in the top 10 of all podcasts globally and is often ranked #1 in the categories of Science, Education, and Health & Fitness.

• No. of episodes: 313
• Latest episode: 2025-06-26
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