Acupressure and acupuncture are an effective way of stimulating the vagus nerve, which has been shown to benefit both physical and mental health in numerous ways. Below are 3 vagus nerve acupressure points which you can quickly and easily perform at home along with a full list of the benefits.
Disclaimer: This post is intended for informational purposes only. I’m not a qualified practitioner and I’m not encouraging anyone else to do acupressure. Please consult a qualified practitioner before making any changes to your current diet or treatment plan. This post may contain affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to your I will earn commission if you click on a link and make a purchase. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. See my full disclaimer here.
Jump To Section:-
- What is acupressure and acupuncture?
- Benefits of acupressure and acupuncture
- Vagus nerve pressure points
- Acupressure points demonstration video
- Other factors affecting vagus nerve tone
- Other health & wellness blog posts
For other information on the vagus nerve you may find this How To Activate Parasympathetic Nervous System post helpful.
What is Acupressure and Acupuncture?
Acupressure and acupuncture involve applying pressure to specific points on the body. It’s one of 12 Vagus Nerve Exercises that stimulate the vagus nerve – the longest nerve in the body which affects every body function (1). Unlike acupuncture, which can only be done by a qualified professional inserting needles into these specific points, acupressure can be done by yourself at home by applying pressure with your finger or thumb. As an added bonus, it’s free to perform.
Related Post: 10 Healthy Habits To Improve Your Health For Free
Benefits of Acupressure & Acupuncture
Acupressure and acupuncture stimulating the vagus nerve activates our parasympathetic rest and digest system, which has been shown to:-
- Calm the whole body,
- Improve digestion & sleep,
- Boost energy, mood, concentration & memory,
- Reduce pain, fatigue & inflammation,
- Reduce heart and breathing rates,
- Increase relaxation,
- Ease anxiety & stress,
Related Post: 12 Vagus Nerve Exercises To Improve Physical & Mental Health
Vagus Nerve Pressure Points
There are 3 specific points on the body – the concha cymba at the ear, Nei Guan P6 at the wrist/forearm and Stomach 36 on the shin – that have been shown to stimulate the vagus nerve and, consequently, increase heart rate variability, support the immune system, reduce inflammation, improve digestion and gut health and ease nausea and vomiting (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13).
You can stimulate these vagus nerve acupuncture points yourself by applying firm but not painful downward pressure on them with your thumb or finger in a circular motion for 1-2 minutes on each one. You may find you swallow, sigh or yawn. These are all signs your vagus nerve and parasympathetic nervous system is activated and your nervous system is calming down.
Creating and sticking to new habits and routines can be difficult. However, acupressure can be quickly and easily be performed at home and can be done while doing other tasks such as watching the tv or waiting for the kettle to boil, making it easy to incorporate regularly in your daily routine.
Related Post: Habits and Routines – 3 Tips To Create & Stick To New Ones
1). Ear – Concha Cymba
- Place your finger in the concha cymba – the cavity above the ear canal.
- Apply firm but not painful pressure on this point with your finger while moving in small circles.
- Perform for 1-2 minutes.
2). Wrist – Nei Guan P6
- With your palm facing up, measure 3 finger widths down from your wrist crease using your index, middle and ring fingers.
- Place your thumb below your index finger in between the 2 large tendons.
- Apply firm but not painful pressure on this point while moving your thumb in small circles.
- Perform for 1-2 minutes.
3). Shin – Stomach 36
- Find the bottom of your knee cap. Measure 4 finger widths down by placing your index finger so it’s touching the bottom of your knee cap with your little finger resting on the outside of your shin.
- Stomach 36 is located in the depression below your little finger, 1 finger breath from the outside of your shin bone.
- As you press on this point you should feel the muscle press and release against your finger as you move your foot up and down.
- Apply firm but not painful pressure on this point with your finger while moving in small circles.
- Perform for 1-2 minutes.
Acupressure Points Demonstration Video
The below video demonstrates how to locate these 3 points and perform acupressure.
Other Factors Affecting Vagus Nerve Tone
As well as acupressure, the other following factors can improve vagus nerve activation and tone:-
- Implementing these 10 nervous system reset exercises to calm the nervous system and place our body in the parasympathetic rest and digest state.
- Making healthy food swaps to remove processed foods and refined sugar from your diet (14).
- Breathing exercises and breath retraining to optimise breathing mechanics (15).
- Rest well by scheduling 7 different types of rest our body needs.
- Good quality uninterrupted sleep – you may find my 5 step nighttime routine, with 5 free ways to improve sleep and my deep sleep tea recipe helpful.
Other Health & Wellness Posts
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I hope this post was helpful. Do you do any vagus nerve exercises like acupressure? I’d love to hear about your experiences. Leave me a message below or follow and contact me on social media – I’m on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest & YouTube.
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I love to learn about therapies like this. It’s one of those therapies that can’t cause harm so definitely worth trying. They are simple and can be done easily. The best part is that acupressure like this can be done at home and doesn’t cost any money at all. Once used to it, it will be easy to perform those techniques without interrupting anything else. I will be trying this- thank you.