Functional medicine pharmacist Regina Karpa, PharmD, explains how the vagus nerve connects the gut, brain, and heart, how common medications can affect autonomic balance, and one simple breathing practice you can start this week.

Dr. Tanvi Gandhi, ND, L.Ac., explains why she sees nervous system symptoms as protection rather than failure, how feeling truly heard can become a cue of safety, and the simple butterfly tapping practice she suggests for calming the body.

Pediatric functional nutrition and mental health practitioner Dr. Sam Scarnato on how digestion, inflammation, and the vagus nerve shape a child’s mood and behavior, and why the best first step for an overwhelmed parent is to observe before changing anything.

Functional medicine physician Dr. Ruth Vanderkooi explains what a standard thyroid and hormone workup can miss, and why she thinks of hormones as a symphony that chronic stress can throw out of balance. She also shares how she supports women through perimenopause and menopause, how the gut, hormones, and vagus nerve connect, and the simple daily habits she uses to tell the nervous system it's safe.

Naturopathic doctor Dr. Mathew Richards explains why chronic fatigue and stress can persist even when lab work looks normal, how the vagus nerve links the nervous and immune systems, and why the one daily practice he would recommend is gratitude.

Trauma and anxiety can leave the nervous system stuck on high alert. Dr. Anna Sheedy, a licensed psychologist, explains how fast-acting calming skills drawn from DBT, like the dive reflex, engage the vagus nerve to quiet intense emotions and build the sense of safety needed for deeper trauma healing.

Longevity physician Dr. Sajad Zalzala explains why stress regulation, meaning, and purpose are foundations of healthy aging, not just items on a checklist. He shares what biological age and heart rate variability can and can't tell us, what he learned from the PEARL rapamycin trial, and the one question he suggests asking yourself to meet stress more steadily.

Dr. María Colón-González on why gut, hormone, and nervous system symptoms so often show up together, how she works with the vagus nerve in her practice, and the simple technique she recommends to patients just getting started.

Dr. Tom Ingegno, a Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, explains why he resists reducing acupuncture to "stimulating the vagus nerve," and makes the case for treating the nervous system as one interconnected network rather than a single switch. He also shares the concept of Yang Sheng, or "nourishing life," and the small, sustainable practices he recommends over elaborate wellness routines.

Dr. Rita Gupta explains how neuroplastic pain and a hypervigilant nervous system connect to vagal tone, and shares the nervous system regulation techniques she recommends most.

Nervous system regulation isn't about pushing a button, says lifestyle medicine physician Dr. Carina Hopen. It's about flexibility: the ability to activate when life demands it, and to find your way back afterward. In this interview, she talks about why sleep matters more than any single technique, what to do when meditation doesn't work for you, and where tools like Alpha-Stim and acupuncture actually fit.

Reproductive psychiatrists Dr. Jessica Benson and Dr. Morgan Lewis explain why postpartum and perimenopausal mood changes usually aren't about abnormal hormone levels, but about how sensitive your nervous system is to the shift itself, and what actually helps.

Eva Selhub, MD, has spent nearly three decades studying how stress physiology, neuroscience, and relationships shape human health and performance. As a physician, an executive advisor, and a resilience expert, her perspective is a useful counterweight to some of the more reductive claims circulating about the vagus nerve. For Dr. Selhub, regulation is never about one nerve or one hack, but about the flexibility of an entire interconnected system.

A GI therapist explains what she wishes more people understood: that a stomachache isn't just in your head, it's a conversation between your gut and your nervous system. Katie Davis, LCSW, walks through the vagus nerve's role in disorders like IBS, and shares one simple breathing practice to start with today.

Integrative psychiatrist Dr. Amy O'Donnell explains how the vagus nerve connects the mind and body, shares daily practices like the dive reflex and diaphragmatic breathing, and discusses how nervous system regulation supports safely tapering off psychiatric medication.

Dr. Fortino spends his days at the intersection of metabolic medicine and the gut-brain connection, so I sought his perspective on how gut health, appetite regulation, and the vagus nerve actually fit together.