How Vagal Regulation Impacts Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a common -- and often overwhelming -- illness. It’s characterized by long bouts of fatigue that last for months and don’t improve with rest. 

Other symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome may include:

• Depression

• Anxiety

• Brain fog

• Headaches

• Muscle weakness and pain

• Constant sleepiness
  
  

Chronic fatigue syndrome can be incredibly frustrating. Doctors still don’t know exactly what causes it, and it can make it impossible to work for months or years at a time. 

However, several hopeful new studies have found a possible cause to chronic fatigue syndrome -- and a way to relieve its symptoms long-term. 

Research in the last few years has tied chronic fatigue syndrome to your vagus nerve, a nerve that connects to the base of your brain. 

Early studies show that activating your vagus nerve may help relieve many of the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome. 

We’ve worked with a number of chronic fatigue syndrome patients over the years. Our unique approach to therapy starts by activating the vagus nerve, which, for many of our patients, has led to major improvements in chronic fatigue. 

If you have chronic fatigue syndrome, we may be able to help. Here’s how vagus nerve regulation can affect chronic fatigue, and what you can do to relieve your symptoms. 

What Is The Vagus Nerve?

Your vagus nerve carries signals from your brain to the rest of your body. It starts at the base of your brain and travels throughout your entire torso, connecting to most of your organs. 

The vagus nerve influences a variety of functions, including digestion, heart rate, immunity, pain response, and more. It also controls your parasympathetic nervous system. 

Your parasympathetic nervous system is the opposite of your “fight or flight” response. When it activates, your heart rate and breathing slow down, your muscles relax, and you feel a sense of overall calm. 

Stimulating your vagus nerve can turn on your parasympathetic response, helping your body and mind relax. 

But if your vagus nerve isn’t communicating information properly, your parasympathetic nervous system may not activate when it should. As a result, you may be constantly stressed and vigilant and have trouble relaxing at a physiological level. 

How Your Vagus Nerve Affects Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Part of what makes chronic fatigue syndrome so frustrating is its unknown origin. Researchers still don’t understand why people develop chronic fatigue syndrome, which makes it particularly challenging to treat or manage. 

However, promising research in the last few years suggests that your vagus nerve may play a role in chronic fatigue. 

In 2013, researchers developed a new theory of chronic fatigue. They proposed that low-level infection of the vagus nerve activates bodywide inflammation. 

As a result, your vagus nerve stops regulating your nervous system properly, and begins constantly sending signals to your brain that tell it to initiate sickness behavior[*]. 

Several studies support the idea that your vagus nerve plays an essential role in chronic fatigue syndrome. 

• People with chronic fatigue had trouble sustaining vagus nerve activation, which may explain why chronic fatigue patients get exhausted when trying to do things for an extended period of time[*]. When your vagus nerve isn’t regulating your nervous system properly, you can have trouble with sustained attention and energy -- it fades in and out because of scattered vagus nerve activity. 

• Another study in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome found that the vagus nerve affected brain fog and cognitive performance[*]. The less responsive the vagus nerve, the more the patients struggled with basic mental tasks. 

• A 2020 study used a device that went up patients’ noses, physically stimulating the vagus nerve so it activated at a normal rate. After eight weeks of treatment, patients’ chronic fatigue symptoms dropped by 30%[*]. 

• Patients with fibromyalgia -- a disorder that’s very similar to chronic fatigue -- saw major improvements in symptoms after three months of vagus nerve stimulation[*]. Some patients had near-complete remission of their symptoms. Fibromyalgia has been proposed as a close relative to chronic fatigue syndrome, where pain is the main symptom and fatigue is secondary[*]. 
  
  

A growing amount of research suggests that vagus nerve regulation is an important part of chronic fatigue. 

Teaching your brain to activate your vagus nerve properly may help you relieve fatigue, pain, brain fog, and other chronic fatigue symptoms. 

The Safe And Sound Protocol: How To Reset Your Vagus Nerve

At Brain Harmony, a lot of our patients have vagus nerve dysregulation. They often have trouble turning off their fight-or-flight response, which leaves them in a constant state of alertness. 

Alternatively, they may have the opposite problem -- they can’t seem to concentrate or feel alert, even when they should. 

The vagus nerve influences your switch from alertness to relaxation. When it doesn’t work properly, your nervous system doesn’t respond to your environment the way it should, and it can be difficult to focus on therapy. 

For that reason, the first thing we do with almost all our patients is the Safe And Sound Protocol (SSP).

The SSP is a five-day protocol designed to reset your vagus nerve activity. It uses special sounds and music that activate your brain’s auditory system, gradually reducing stress and helping your brain return to a safe, comfortable baseline. 

From there, we move on to other neurological tools and therapies. Our protocols reorganize your brain from the ground up, building pathways that encourage proper vagus nerve regulation and create better neurological organization. 

The result is improvement in fatigue, depression, anxiety, attention, and even pain. 

Our Therapy Can Help Relieve Chronic Fatigue Symptoms

Over the years, we’ve worked with a number of patients who have chronic fatigue syndrome. 

We’ve helped many people manage the symptoms of chronic fatigue and regain a sense of control over their lives. 

If you’re struggling with chronic fatigue syndrome, we want to help. Schedule a free consultation to talk to one of our board-certified therapists. Together, we can develop a plan of care to relieve your symptoms and help you feel like yourself again.