Control Your Vagus Nerve to Improve Mood, Alertness & Neuroplasticity

Andrew Huberman

Jun 23, 2025

Episode description

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.

Episode show notes: https://go.hubermanlab.com/K36mJhe

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*Timestamps*
00:00:00 Vagus Nerve
00:02:43 Sponsors: LMNT & Joovv
00:05:41 Cranial Nerves, Inputs (Afferents) & Outputs (Efferents), Sensory & Motor
00:12:40 Vagus Nerve & Sensory Pathways, Body & Brain
00:18:30 Sensory Information, Chemical & Mechanical Information
00:23:49 Sympathetic & Parasympathetic Nervous Systems, Vagus Nerve, Tool: Calming & Auricular (Ear) Sensation
00:30:19 Sponsors: AG1 & ROKA
00:33:38 Vagus Nerve Motor Outputs
00:36:00 Autoregulation, Improving Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Tools: HR Deceleration
00:49:46 Aging, Declining HRV, Health, Activity, Tool
00:52:31 Tool: Exercise, Increase Alertness for Cognitive & Physical Activity, Motivation
01:04:26 Sponsor: Function
01:06:14 Adult Neuroplasticity & Learning, Acetylcholine, Alpha GPC Nicotine
01:11:48 Tools: High-Intensity Exercise, Increase Alertness, Focus & Learning; Sleep
01:18:14 Serotonin, Gut, Brain & Mood, Depression & SSRIs
01:21:34 Serotonin, Improve Mood & Gut Health, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Tools: Low-Sugar Fermented Foods, Tryptophan
01:28:49 Mood, Depression, Gut Health & Vagal Signaling, Probiotics
01:32:12 Calming Down via Vagus Nerve, Tool: Neck Peri-Arterial Vagus Stretch
01:42:00 Tools: Calming Down, Humming, Extended Exhales
01:46:38 Recap
01:48:46 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow & Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Protocols Book, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter

Disclaimer & Disclosures: https://www.hubermanlab.com/disclaimer

Mindsip insights from this episode:

Utilize Roka red lens glasses to enhance melatonin and reduce cortisol

Roka red lens glasses are designed to filter the full range of short-wavelength light, not just blue light, to support melatonin and lower cortisol in the evening.

#melatonin

#red-light

Activate vagus nerve pathways to enhance alertness

Contrary to popular belief, activating certain pathways of the vagus nerve can make you more alert, not calmer, and is used clinically to wake up the brain.

#neurology

#vagus-nerve

Extend exhales to enhance heart rate variability

Deliberately extending your exhale 10 to 20 times throughout the day strengthens a vagal pathway that improves your heart rate variability (HRV), even while you sleep.

#HRV

#vagus-nerve

Counteract age-related HRV decline with deliberate long exhales

Heart rate variability (HRV) declines with age as a key brain pathway degenerates, but you can counteract this by practicing deliberate long exhales to keep the pathway engaged.

#aging

#HRV

Exercise to activate alertness and motivation

Moving large muscles like your legs and trunk releases adrenaline that activates the vagus nerve, which in turn tells your brain to become more alert and motivated.

#exercise

#vagus-nerve

Engage in high-intensity exercise to boost learning and neuroplasticity

High-intensity exercise activates the vagus nerve to trigger the release of acetylcholine in the brain, opening a window for enhanced neuroplasticity and learning for several hours afterward.

#exercise

#neuroplasticity

Understand gut-brain serotonin communication through vagus nerve

Serotonin from your gut doesn't travel to your brain; instead, its levels are communicated via the vagus nerve, which then signals your brain to produce its own serotonin.

#gut

#vagus-nerve

Humming correctly activates vagus nerve for calmness

To effectively calm yourself by humming, you should emphasize the 'H' part of the hum to create a deep vibration in the throat and chest, which activates the vagus nerve.