What Does the Vagus Nerve Do?
Think of the vagus nerve as your body’s built-in calming system. It’s the longest cranial nerve, running from the brainstem down to the gut and connecting to many of your major organs along the way. Its job is to support the parasympathetic nervous system, which is the “rest and digest” side that helps bring you back to baseline after stress.
This matters more than you might think. The vagus nerve plays a crucial role in regulating heart rate, digestion, inflammation, and mood. When vagal tone is low, research links it to higher levels of anxiety, depression, and chronic inflammation. When it’s working well, it helps lower stress hormones like cortisol and supports a greater sense of calm, safety, and emotional balance.
There are a few ways to stimulate it. Slow breathing, cold exposure, even singing or humming. But movement plays a particularly powerful role. And that’s where those myokines or “hope molecules” come in.
Hope Molecules: Mood Boosters for Your Muscles
The name might sound a little poetic, but “hope molecules” aren’t some feel-good invention. They’re very real, and your body makes them every time you move. Scientists call them myokines. They’re tiny proteins released by your muscles during physical activity. Neuroscientist Kelly McGonigal helped bring the term into the mainstream to describe something many of us have felt firsthand: movement changes how we feel. And often pretty quickly.
Once these myokines are released, they don’t just stay in your muscles. They circulate through the bloodstream, cross into the brain, and get to work. Some, like irisin, BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), and certain forms of IL-6, are linked to lower anxiety, fewer depressive symptoms, and a brain that’s better at adapting to stress. In other words, they help your nervous system bounce back.
It’s one reason a walk can clear your head or a workout can shift your mood in ways a cup of coffee never quite can. As Einstein famously put it, “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” Turns out, biology agrees.
How Exercise Connects the Vagus Nerve and Hope Molecules
This is where things get especially interesting.
Dual Activation. When you exercise, you’re working two powerful systems at the same time. On one side, your contracting muscles release myokines that support brain health and emotional regulation. On the other, steady, rhythmic movement (walking, cycling, yoga, etc.) stimulates the vagus nerve by slowing the heart rate and nudging the body into a calmer, parasympathetic state. One pathway lifts mood from the body up. The other quiets stress from the top down.
Gut-Brain Axis. There’s also the gut–brain connection to consider. The vagus nerve is in constant conversation with the gut microbiome, relaying signals that influence inflammation, immunity, and emotional tone. Hope molecules play a role here too, helping create a gut environment that’s less inflammatory and more supportive of healthy nervous system signaling. When both systems are working well, the result is often a steadier mood and a greater sense of ease.
Mental Health Improvement. Research in areas like depression, PTSD, and chronic inflammatory conditions keeps pointing to this same overlap. Vagus nerve stimulation has been shown to reduce stress-related symptoms, while regular exercise supports optimism and emotional flexibility through myokine release. Together, they form a kind of feedback loop. One that helps prevent physical stress and inflammation from spilling over into your mental health.
There isn’t a single on/off switch where the vagus nerve suddenly releases “hope.” It’s more subtle than that. Movement sets the whole process in motion, gently activating multiple systems at once. Over time, that adds up to less stress, lower inflammation, and a nervous system that’s better equipped to handle whatever comes next.
Real-World Wins: From Lab to Everyday Life
Many studies on mental health and physical activity have explored how myokines produced during exercise can reach the brain. This explains why movement often brings relief during stressful times. More recently, research from the National Institute of Health shows that vagus nerve stimulation can calm an overactive immune response through pathways that overlap with the benefits of exercise. Even in chronic conditions like inflammatory bowel disease, studies suggest that combining gentle movement with vagus nerve stimulation can strengthen communication between the gut and brain.
You’ll find these ideas in wellness discussions. Doctors like Tanmeet Sethi, MD, talk about how practices supporting the vagus nerve can enhance movement when dealing with trauma and stress. Remove the fluff, and you discover something practical. The body has built-in systems for resilience, and we can support them in simple ways.
Simple Ways to Improve Your Wellbeing
You don’t have to change your life drastically to see benefits. Small daily habits matter more than intensity.
Deep breathing. Techniques like 4-7-8 breathing (inhale for four, hold for seven, exhale for eight) gently stimulate the vagus nerve and help your body calm down. Do this before or after movement.
Move regularly. A daily 20 to 30-minute walk, light yoga, or any rhythmic and steady activity can support vagal tone and encourage myokine release. The key is consistency.
Brief cold exposure. End your shower with 30 seconds of cooler water. It may feel uncomfortable at first, but many people find it helps with recovery and mood when paired with daily exercise.
Support your gut. Eating probiotic-rich foods can help strengthen the gut and brain connection. The stronger this connection is, the more resilient you become.
It can also help to pay attention. Write down how you feel after moving–your energy, mood, and sleep. Over time, patterns begin to show up, and they’re often encouraging.
A Powerful Pair for Resilience
The vagus nerve and hope molecules are not just abstract concepts. Together, they create a practical support system for managing stress, inflammation, and emotional strain. Movement brings them together, working in harmony to improve your quality of life.
With mental health gaining more attention, this information is not just interesting science. It reminds us that resilience doesn’t always mean doing more. Sometimes it comes from doing something small consistently and allowing your body to respond.
The next step is straightforward. Take a walk. Slow your breath. Move in a way that feels supportive rather than punishing. Hope is something your body already knows how to create. All you have to do is support it.
What’s one small way you’ll strengthen that connection today?
Stay curious, stay moving,
Liesl Bernard – CEO, Leading for Wellness Events and Podcast