The Vagus-Sleep Connection: How Rest Recharges Your Nervous System

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Your emotions feeling out of control? Your reactions a bit over the top? Before you blame yourself, check your sleep quality. That irritability, anxiety, and emotional rawness might not be character flaws—they're classic signs of a sleep-deprived vagus nerve.

The vagus nerve—that remarkable communication superhighway linking brain and body—thrives during deep, restorative sleep.

But there's good news: supporting your vagus nerve doesn't require complicated protocols. 

Ready to transform your emotional resilience and physical wellbeing? Start by treating sleep as essential medicine for your nervous system. You don't need to hustle your way to health—you need to rest. 

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Episode Transcript

Emily Feist (00:00):
Today we're diving into how missing sleep turns
your nervous system into a dramaqueen, your emotions into
toddlers and your vagus nerveinto a tired intern who's just
trying to keep the lights on.
Welcome back to it Starts atVagus, the podcast where we stop
chasing calm and start creatingit, one small shift at a time.
I'm your host, Emily, and I'myour guide to rewiring stress,

(00:24):
restoring calm and giving yournervous system the attention it
deserves.
If you are tuning in while,sleep-deprived, sipping on your
third cup of coffee andwondering why you feel a little
unhinged this week, you're inthe right place.
Today we're talking about sleep,the vagus nerve, and why your
nervous system might be throwinga temper tantrum that even

(00:44):
melatonin can't fix.
So let's tuck in yoursympathetic nervous system, turn
down the cortisol and talkabout what's really going on
when you can't sleep and howthat lack of sleep throws your
emotional regulation and bodyoff balance.
Let's start with a quicknervous system refresher.
Your vagus nerve is asuperhighway between your brain

(01:05):
and your body.
It starts at your brainstem,weaves through your neck, chest
and into your belly, touchingnearly every major organ along
the way.
It's your calm down, buttonyour inflammation, soother your
emotional co-regulator.
It helps you digest your food,slow your heart rate, breathe
deeply and feel connected toothers.

(01:26):
And this is why we talk aboutvagal tone, because it is
connected to so many thingsPhysically, emotionally.
It's just got that good tie-into all the things that help us
feel our best.
When we use the phrase vagaltone, that's just a fancy way of
saying how well your vagusnerve is doing its job.
So high vagal tone equalsemotionally steady, calm,

(01:51):
flexible.
We can go in and out throughour emotions.
But low vagal tone tends tomake us experience more
irritability, feel more anxious,that shutdown feeling, and it
can give our body that inflamedfeeling.
And the thing is, sleep is oneof the vagus nerve's favorite

(02:11):
recharging stations.
.
Your let's start by talkingabout what actually happens in
your body and mind when youdon't get enough sleep.
And I'm not just talking aboutall-nighters, I'm talking about
when we have those five-hournights that just stack up, the
interrupted sleep from whetherthat's kids or having to go to
use the bathroom.

(02:32):
It can also be that mental loadthat keeps you awake, thinking
about those lunchbox ideas orthe late emails.
But when you're not gettingthat deep, restorative sleep,
you start becoming more prone toanxiety and start overreacting
more and your vagal tone drops.
So when things happen to us,even little things like spilled

(02:54):
milk, our body reads us as oh,we're under threat, put up the
shields.
Become more sensitive to what'sgoing on around us, because it
needs that information to keepyou safe.
So now it activates asympathetic nervous system,
where our adrenaline rises, yourheart rate climbs, blood
pressure ticks up, the digestionslows down and inflammation

(03:16):
increases.
Meanwhile, the poor, vagusnerve that tries to say
everything's okay is now tootired to finish the sentence.
It is pooped out and thereforeallows the sensitivities to show
up.
And I remember a week not toolong ago where we had storms in
our area and it lasted about aweek.

(03:37):
Off and on.
It was the kind of storms thatshook our house and woke us up
while we were sleeping.
And three or four days intothis week-long storm, this
week-long storm, everyone in myhouse was just pooped out.
We were all tired for notgetting enough sleep too many
days in a row, and for me, mydesire to get morning sun was
slim to none, and I love mymorning sun.

(03:59):
It's a big red flag for me whenI don't want to do the things
that I really do enjoy, and Ialso know that my patience was
lower than normal.
I started getting irritable atthings and everyone in I started
getting irritable at things,and everyone in my household
started getting irritable atthings.
So you just know how that cyclegoes.
So this is when I know that Ineed to be nice to myself, to

(04:22):
let go of those little thingsand make sure I support my
nervous system so I can also bekind to my family.
And if you've had moments likethat, you're not failing, you're
just running on an emptyregulation tank.
And this is why I love thevagus nerve so much, because we
can do things to support it toget back into that rest and
digest mode where it feels safe.

(04:43):
And it's such a fun nervebecause it connects emotionally
and physically for us.
So when we support it we cansleep better and then feel
better.
And everyone gets better whenwe sleep, when we get good,
consistent sleep.
That activates ourparasympathetic function, which
is our calm mode.
The vagal activity is strongestduring the slow wave, deep sleep

(05:06):
and without it theanti-inflammatory benefits of
the vagus nerve are impaired andso over time that can lead to
chronic stress, the anxiety andeven autoimmune issues.
And when it comes to ouremotions.
Our emotional resilience isrooted in nervous system

(05:27):
flexibility.
So when that vagal tone is low,we can't regulate emotions as
effectively and that leads tomore panic and a sense of
something is wrong with me, whenreally what's wrong is that
your body is just tired anddysregulated, and that is when
your nervous system is askingand begging for sleep to help it

(05:51):
reset.
Now, if you're alreadyoverwhelmed and sleep feels like
one more thing to get right,don't worry, you just start
small.
So here are three gentle sleepsupportive habits that you can
try tonight so that your vagaltone is able to be flexible for
the next day.
First, I like to create a winddown cue.

(06:15):
I like to dim most of thelights in my house.
You can also spray magnesiumspray on your feet or putting on
calming music Anything thattells your nervous system that
it can associate it to it's safeand to start calming down and
let the small things go.
Second, when I am in bed, Istart focusing on my sleep.

(06:41):
I start breathing in through mynose and out my mouth.
I really like to take time tobelly breathe and it helps me to
start practicing that good deepbreath.
Now this last one could be achallenge for some of you, and
that is to go screen free for,let's just say, 30 minutes

(07:03):
before bed, and I mean that,tiktok, the face scrolling, the
Pinterest, even the Amazonrabbit hole of blackout curtains
that you're researching at 11pm.
Do not lay down in your bedjust to bring your phone up, Put
it away or, better yet, put itin a different room so you don't
feel tempted at night to scroll.

(07:25):
So pick one of these things, doall three.
If you can Just start with onesmall shift, that makes it
easier for your vagus nerve tocome back to feeling safe and
secure.
It doesn't have to be perfect,you just have to support it.
Just a reminder you don't needto hustle your way to health,
you need to rest, and it's not aluxury, but more like medicine,

(07:49):
more like therapy.
Think of it as a vagus nerveintervention.
Your emotions aren't irrationaland your reactions aren't
dramatic.
It's your body trying to keepyou safe and you're not broken,
you're just tired.
You deserve that rest.
You deserve nervous systempeace and your vagus nerve is
ready to get the signals to getyou into that safe rest mode

(08:14):
again.
All right, friends, thanks forhanging out with me today.
If this episode gave you that.
"Oh, that's why I feel offmoment.
Share it with a friend, leave areview or just take a deep
breath and promise yourself anearly bedtime.
And until next time, rememberwellness starts at Vegas.