Humming for Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Nitric Oxide Production

The vagus nerve runs from our brain all the way down to our abdomen. It is an often overlooked part of our body that can have beneficial effects for our health and wellbeing.

The vagus nerve is responsible for the production of nitric oxide in the sinuses. Nasal nitric oxide is a natural anti-viral which helps in our respiratory system defenses alongside our nasal hairs (cilia) and nasal mucus.

By practicing functional breathing such as the exercises in the Buteyko Breathing Method, the vagus nerve can be used to normalize blood pressure. When stimulated, it lowers the speed of the heart rate and dilates blood vessels.

Vagus nerve stimulation can also activate the body’s relaxation response by activating the body’s parasympathetic response, helping to calm us if we’re facing a stressful situation or a panic/anxiety attack.

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[kd]

I have gastritis, MCAS and long Covid. Humming has been recommended by my Naturopathic Practitioner.

[birdienumnums]

I am in red alert mode most of the time due to the loss of my mother, not handling it well, shock and overwhelm state. previously I had anxiety all my life so this has made it all worse. will try this thank you

[rubengreenberg]

Hum tunes to make this excellent exercise livelier and more effective. The different frequencies used in music will also increase the exercise's effectiveness

[erringnadinger]

I have truly debilitating anxiety often for weeks. I have tried this and it does seem to provide some help. Will continue to practice this.

[jonathanblack]

Seems some of us do this without knowing why. I always loved to him the out the nose.
What’s most helpful here is to recognize it for what it is doing and also to breathe back in from the nose to get the magic chemicals from it in great abundance.

Thanks for pointing it all out for us to pay attention too.

[ladyflimflam]

I tend to do this while driving. That usually gives me 5-10 minutes of continuous humming between stops while doing errands.

[RichardMaassen]

Thank you so much for steadily producing these videos! I make sure to watch and like every one of them to feed the algorithm. :)

[shelbywright]

Thanks for this - helps with clients - she is a a great hummer!

[JohnDoe-onru]

I notice if I hum with a lower pitch I feel more vibrations, what is the ideal tone?

[zainulasri]

Excellent ! My bp drops after a few hums 😃

[amarynth]

feels good, produces a vibration in my upper body that continues long after i stopped

[mokuho]

This is amazing! Thank you so much Dr! 🙏🏼❤

[reknirbecurb]

If aliens do ever come to earth I hope we can teach them this! 100% Best technique I’ve learned in years! 👍

[joycelawrence]

I love the information on the vagus nerve. As a yoga teacher, I have been using and sharing humming breath (bhramari) for years. I am curious what your thoughts are about ujjayi breathing? This is a technique I have been using for decades where you make a slight whisper sound in the throat.

[puraveda]

This is very similar to Brahmari or Bumble Bee breath.

[danvelgtr]

Great video, should the exhale when done with humming be done with the mouth open ? tia.

[MasterJK]

Hey Patrick, thanks for video 🙏🏽😊 Can you hum melodys of course same principle slowly in an all 🙏🏽

[charlieruisseau]

Thanks, it looks great!!! But I'm a bit nervous to try, can I use this technic and Buteyko more generally with hypotension?

[alexanderwindh]

Is there any length of time? Or just like 4 breaths every 30 minutes humming?

[TomiRantanen]

Every humming study I've seen measures nitric oxide from the exhalation air, meaning the NO is expelled. Is there a study that verifies there is increased NO in the following inhaled air or blood circulation as well?

Otherwise it's at least theoretically possible that humming actually reduces bioavailable NO.