1: Ever heard of the vagus nerve?
It sounds like Vegas, as in Las Vegas, and runs from deep within our brain stem down to our heart, lungs, and other internal organs.
Turns out it’s quite important.
“Compared to people with lower vagal tone, those with higher vagal tone experience more love in their daily lives, more moments of positivity resonance,” Barbara Fredrickson writes in her book Love 2.0: How Our Supreme Emotion Affects Everything We Feel, Think, Do, and Become.
Why is that?
“It’s as though the agility of the conduit between their brains and hearts—as reflected in their high vagal tone,” Barbara notes, “allows them to be exquisitely agile, attuned, and flexible as they navigate the ups and downs of day-to-day life and social exchanges.”
Scientists can measure the strength of the vagus nerve “simply by tracking your heart rate in conjunction with your breathing rate,” she writes.
Does our vagal tone change over time?
“Measured at rest, vagal tone also tends to be extraordinarily stable over time,” Barbara shares. “For most people, it remains roughly the same year after year, rhythmically channeling them toward loneliness or social prosperity, sickness or health.”
Next question: Am I one of the fortunate ones with a high vagal tone?
If I am, that’s great. By definition, I will experience more of what Barbara calls “micro-moments of love.”
But what if I’m not? There is also good news here, too, however. In fact, the latest science gives plenty of reason for hope, she assures us.
2: So far this week, we’ve explored two of the three primary biological drivers of love: First, our brains, and second, oxytocin, which circulates throughout our brains and bodies.
The vagal nerve, which is the tenth cranial nerve, is the third biological element that creates feelings of love.
As we go about our days, “these biological characters—our brains, our oxytocin, and our vagus nerve—are ever responsive to set changes,” Barbara writes.
“As we interact with one person after another, they gently nudge us to attend to these others more closely and forge connections when possible.”
“The vagal nerve emerges from our brain stem deep within our skull,” Barbara writes, “and perhaps most significantly it connects our brain to our heart.”
When we register a flight or fight response because we’ve been threatened, it’s our “vagus nerve that eventually soothes our racing heart,” she notes, “by orchestrating (together with oxytocin) the equally ancestral calm-and-connect response.”
3: Interestingly, our bodies respond entirely outside of our conscious awareness.
“The vagus nerve stimulates tiny facial muscles that better enable us to make eye contact and synchronize our facial expressions with another person,” Barbara writes.
“It even adjusts the minuscule muscles of our middle ear so we can better track the other person’s voice against any background noise.
“In these exquisitely subtle yet consequential ways, our vagus nerve increases the odds that the two of us will connect.”
People with higher vagal tone tend to be “more flexible across a whole host of domains—physical, mental, and social,” she writes. “They simply adapt better to their ever-shifting circumstances, albeit completely at nonconscious levels.
“Physically, they regulate their internal bodily processes more efficiently, like their glucose levels and inflammation,” Barbara notes.
“Mentally, they’re better able to regulate their attention and emotions, even their behavior.
“Socially, they’re especially skillful in navigating interpersonal interactions and in forging positive connections with others.”
The really good news? We can build our vagal tone just like we can build muscle through regular workouts.
More tomorrow!
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Reflection: What surprises me about Barbara’s research?
Action: Discuss with a family member, friend, or colleague.
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