Victoria Jones explores stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system

An article prompted by World Mental Health Day, 10 October 2025

World Mental Health Day is coming up on 10 October 2025—this prompted a conversation about the tools we call upon when in need of a mental salve. Most referred to various forms of connecting, moving, learning, and mindfulness, but the first that came to my mind was music, which led me to wonder what enables some music to soothe so effectively?

It seems one way music does this is through its interaction with our parasympathetic nervous system.

The nervous system is a network of nerve cells throughout the body which respond to changes in the external environment to maintain a stable internal environment within the body. It is made up of the central nervous system, which constitutes the brain and spinal cord, and the peripheral nervous system, which constitutes the nerves which extend from the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body. The peripheral nervous system senses changes in the external environment and communicates this sensory information to the central nervous system. The central nervous system then interprets this sensory information and issues command signals to relevant parts of the body, via the peripheral nervous system, which respond in turn to account for the changes in the external environment.

The peripheral nervous system is made up of the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system. The somatic nervous system governs conscious, voluntary responses to the external environment, for example, moving, talking, and writing. Conversely, the autonomic nervous system governs unconscious, automatic responses to the external environment, for example, heart rate, breathing, body temperature, digestion, and pupil dilation.

The autonomic nervous system is made up of the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for the “fight-or-flight” response, preparing the body for action in response to an external stressor—for example, by increasing heart rate, releasing more glucose into the blood stream, and slowing non-essential functions such as digestion to make fuel more available. Conversely, the parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for the “rest-and-digest” response, relaxing the body once there is no longer an external stressor—for example, by decreasing heart rate and resuming non-essential functions such as digestion to conserve energy and promote recovery. Accordingly, the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous systems work in opposition to maintain a stable internal environment, meaning the autonomic nervous system can both protect the body against short-term external stressors and manage long-term maintenance of the body, both of which are necessary for long-term survival.

An essential part of the parasympathetic nervous system are the vagus nerves. The left and right vagus nerves are the longest cranial nerves in the body and make up 75% of the parasympathetic nervous system. They extend from the brain to the large intestine through the left and right sides of the body to innervate organs such as the heart, lungs, and digestive tract, thereby enabling the parasympathetic nervous system to adjust the functioning of these organs.

The vagus nerves also innervate parts of the ears, so one possible explanation for the soothing effect of some music is that the sound vibrations of the music pass from the ears to the vagus nerves and modulate the parasympathetic nervous system, thereby promoting the “rest-and digest” state.

In fact, stimulation of the vagus nerves to treat mood disorders is a growing area of research, exemplified by the large number of patent applications relating to Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) therapy.

VNS devices are described as pacemakers for the brain as they regulate electrical impulses along the vagus nerves in a similar way pacemakers regulate electrical impulses through the heart. VNS devices are divided into invasive and non-invasive devices.

An invasive VNS device is implanted subcutaneously and generally includes three components: a pulse generator which is positioned in the chest wall; an electrode cuff which is wrapped around the cervical bundle of the left vagus nerve; and a wire connecting the pulse generator and the electrode cuff. The pulse generator delivers electrical signals to the left vagus nerve via the wire and electrode cuff, which in turn transmits the signals to the brain to increase activity in mood-regulating areas and alter the levels of neurotransmitters. VNS using an invasive device is FDA approved to treat both treatment-resistant depression and epilepsy, and as a rehabilitation aid for stroke. The mental health charity Mind provide a more detailed overview of this treatment. One of the pioneers and top filers of patent applications in this space is Cyberonics (now part of LivaNova).

Non-invasive VNS devices work in a similar manner to invasive VNS devices but, instead of being implanted into the body, are wearable. Non-invasive devices can be divided into transcutaneous cervical vagus nerve stimulation (tcVNS) devices, which stimulate the vagus nerves via the neck (an example of which is truvega by electroCore, one of the top filers of patent applications in this space, and Pulsetto Lite by Pulsetto) and transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) devices, which stimulate the vagus nerves via the ears (an example of which is  Nurosym by Parasym).

However, it is thought there are ways to stimulate the vagus nerves and thereby encourage the parasympathetic nervous system to regulate emotions without such VNS devices. These include

• slow, deep breathing—this can be guided by a technique such as diaphragmatic breathing and practices such as meditation
• low or moderate intensity exercise such as walking and yoga
• massage
• listening to slow-tempo music
• singing or humming
• immersing in cold water

Perhaps this World Mental Health Day is a good opportunity to integrate a new tool into our lives to nourish the mind by stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system.