Let's be real. We get overstimulated A LOT.

It was 7:59 a.m.

I was making myself a cup of coffee in the kitchen.

“Today is going to be a good day.” That’s what I told myself.

And then I heard it. A lawnmower. I thought nothing of it.

Then another one started two houses down. Oh.

Then another behind my house. Now, normally this wouldn’t be that big of a deal IF this didn’t happen every other day.

I realized that my hatred for lawnmowers had been born. I was overstimulated. I was stressed. I hadn’t even taken a sip of my coffee yet.

Someone decided to grind metal on their driveway a moment later.

Now, I can’t just start hulking out, I know that. So, what did I do?

The Vagus Nerve Trick

I pushed my tongue to the roof of my mouth, just behind my front teeth. It's a low-key nervous system hack.

The vagus nerve is the queen bee of our parasympathetic nervous system (aka our rest and digest mode). And the tongue-to-palate pressure is a vagal stimulator. Our palate (the soft and hard part) is LOADED with nerve endings.

When we’re stressed, our sympathetic nervous system (fight-or-flight) floods our body with cortisol, tightens muscles, and speeds up our heart rate. That’s where overstimulation kicks in (yay), racing thoughts, shallow breathing, sensory overload!

Pushing our tongue up to the palate stimulates these tiny nerve endings, signaling that we have to activate the parasympathetic nervous system (in charge of the calm), particularly via the vagus nerve.

It’s like hitting the brakes gently in traffic. You won’t completely stop what you’re feeling, but you’ll slow it down a bit.

So the next time you’re feeling overstimulated, try this:

1. Tongue up to the palate.

2. Inhale through your nose for 4 seconds.

3. Hold for 4.

4. Exhale for 6–8.

5. Repeat a few times.

Let’s not hulk out.

—S