This video highlights the significance of the vagus nerve and heart rate variability (HRV) in stress management and overall well-being. The vagus nerve, crucial for balancing our body's responses, impacts our physical and emotional health, while HRV serves as a marker for stress resilience and autonomic nervous system health. Enhancing vagal tone and HRV through mindfulness, deep breathing, and exercise can bolster stress management and improve our capacity to adapt to challenges, emphasizing a holistic approach to health that integrates physiological insights with practical stress-reduction techniques.
Download a text version.
Ludwig RJ, Welch MG. Darwin's other dilemmas and the theoretical roots of emotional connection. (2019). Front Psychol. 2019 Apr 12;10:683. doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00683.
Madison A., Kiecolt-Glaser J.K, Stress, depression, diet, and the gut microbiota: human–bacteria interactions at the core of psychoneuroimmunology and nutrition. (2019). Curr Opin Behav Sci, 28, 105-110, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2019.01.011
Porges SW. The polyvagal theory: new insights into adaptive reactions of the autonomic nervous system. (2009). Cleve Clin J Med. 2009 Apr;76 Suppl 2(Suppl 2):S86-90. doi: https://doi.org/10.3949/ccjm.76.s2.17
Porges SW. Polyvagal theory: A science of safety. (2022). Front. Integr. Neurosci., 10 May 2022 16 - 2022, doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnint.2022.871227
Trivedi, Gunjan & Saboo, Banshi & Singh, Ram & Maheshwari, Anuj & Sharma, Kamal & Verma, Narsingh. (2019). Can decreased heart rate variability be a marker of autonomic dysfunction, metabolic syndrome and diabetes? Journal of Diabetology. 10. 48. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/JOD.JOD_17_18
Altini, Marco. (2020). a-brief-history-of-heart-rate-variability-hrv-features. https://www.hrv4training.com/blog2/a-brief-history-of-heart-rate-variability-hrv-features
Kazuya S. Rapid stimulation of human dentate gyrus function with acute mild exercise. Proc Nat Acad Sci, 2018; 201805668. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1805668115
Rosenblum GD, Taska LS. (2014) Self-defense training as clinical intervention for survivors of trauma. Violence against Women. 293-308. doi:10.1177/1077801214526048.
Silva, Y. P., Bernardi, A., & Frozza, R. L. (2020). The role of short-chain fatty acids from gut microbiota in gut-brain communication. Frontiers in endocrinology, 11, 508738. doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2020.00025
Wilson, S. J., Woody, A., Padin, A. C., Lin, J., Malarkey, W. B., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K. (2019). Loneliness and telomere length: immune and parasympathetic function in associations with accelerated aging. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 53(6), 541-550. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/abm/kay064
About Professor Kay Wilhelm
Kay Wilhelm is Professor of Psychiatry at University of Notre Dame Sydney, Conjoint Professor in Psychiatry and Mental Health UNSW and Emeritus Consultant Psychiatrist at St Vincent’s Hospital. She was a Member of NSW Medical Council for 14 years and Chair of Doctor’s Health Program for 12 and now part of the Hearing Member Panel for the NSW Medical Council. She is Chair, HETI Higher Education Governing Council and a member of the Central and Eastern Sydney LDH Advisory Group of Suicide Prevention and Mental Health. Kay has previously been a consultant and researcher in the Mood Disorders Unit at Prince Henry Hospital, which developed into the Black Dog Institute. Following that, she worked at St Vincent’s Hospital in Liaison Psychiatry, with particular interest in transplant psychiatry, diabetes and suicidal presentations. She has carried out a seminal 30-year longitudinal study looking at gender differences of wellbeing (The Sydney Teachers’ Study). She has been awarded Founders’ Medal, from Australasian Society of Psychiatric Research; the RANZCP College Citation and NSW Branch’s Meritorious Service Award and is a Member of the Order of Australia, in recognition of services in depression management, suicide prevention, doctors’ health, professional education and service to the profession.
