Day 8: Sing, Gargle, Gag
Did you know that singing along to holiday songs can actually promote hormone balance? So can gargling water and initiating a gag reflex.
You’re probably wondering how in the heck these actions help balance hormones, but that’s what this 12 Days of Healthy Hormone Hacks series is all about!
Singing, gargling, and gagging stimulate and strengthen the vagus nerve, which is the longest nerve in your body. The vagus rules important organ activity in the:
- Brain (neurotransmitter hormones!)
- Neck (thyroid hormones!)
- Intestines (more neurotransmitter, thyroid, and other hormone activity!)
- Liver (excretion of excess hormones!)
- Pancreas (insulin and related hormones!)
- Kidney (cortisol and DHEA hormones!)
- And reproductive organs (estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone hormones!)
That’s a lot of organs producing important hormones and performing important functions in the body!
If the vagus nerve is weak, it won’t do a good job telling the rest of the organs in your body to do their job, and therefore hormone production and balance will take a hit.
Your vagus nerve also translates information between the gut and the brain. If one of them is not getting the right signals, the whole ship can sink!
Don’t worry; it’s super easy to strengthen your vagus nerve, especially during the holidays! Next time your favorite holiday (or other) tune comes on the radio, sing your socks off to stimulate that vagus nerve.
You can also gargle water daily- your gargle should be long enough to make it feel challenging. Or the next time you brush your teeth, lay your toothbrush on the back of your tongue and push down to activate a gag reflex.
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