The Vagus Nerve: What Happens in Vagus… Definitely Doesn’t Stay in Vagus

by Harry de Haas

First things first: it’s "VAY-GUS", not Vegas!

Although considering everything this nerve gets involved with, the confusion is understandable.

There's an old saying: What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

The vagus nerve is pretty much the exact opposite.

What happens in vagus can end up affecting your heart, lungs, digestion, stress response and, rather interestingly, parts of your sexual anatomy.

This thing gets around.

BUT - unlike a weekend in Las Vegas, your vagus nerve may actually remember what happened below the belt.

So What the Hell Is the Vagus Nerve?

The vagus is one of the body's major communication highways.

It starts in the brainstem and wanders down through the neck and chest into the abdomen, communicating with organs including the heart, lungs and digestive tract.

In fact, vagus comes from the Latin for “wandering.”

Which makes it sound even more like Vegas.

But what does this wandering nerve have to do with your crotch?

Your Brain and Your Crotch Are Constantly Talking

Sexual response isn't something that happens exclusively between your legs.

Your brain, spinal cord, autonomic nervous system and pelvic nerves are engaged in a remarkably complicated conversation involving sensation, arousal, blood flow and orgasm.

The vagus isn't the primary nerve supplying your genitals - that job involves other important nerves including the pudendal nerve.

But here's where things get fascinating.

Research in women suggests the vagus can carry certain sensory information from the vagina and cervix toward the brain.

Researchers studying some women with complete spinal-cord injuries found that vaginal and cervical stimulation could still be perceived, and some women could experience orgasm despite the expected spinal pathway being interrupted.

Evidence suggests the vagus nerve can provide an alternative route to the brain.

In other words, if your crotch has a neurological back road, nature really wants that phone call to get through.

Does “Stimulating Your Vagus” Improve Sex?

Maybe indirectly but don't believe everything you see online.

Breathing exercises, relaxation and other practices associated with parasympathetic activity may influence stress and arousal. But saying “stimulate your vagus nerve and you'll have better orgasms” leaps well beyond what the evidence currently establishes.

Your sexual nervous system involves multiple nerves and pathways.

There is no single “press here for orgasm” switch.

Sorry, Vegas.

The Crotch Doctor's Bottom Line

The vagus nerve isn't the crotch nerve.

But its relationship with sexual and pelvic physiology, particularly the apparent pathway involving the vagina and cervix is totally fascinating.

And it reinforces something we talk about a lot around here:

Your crotch isn't an isolated piece of anatomy. It's connected to the rest of you, including your brain.

So remember: What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

What happens in vagus? That shit can travel all the way to your brain.

Now that's a trip worth talking about.

This article is for general educational purposes and isn't a substitute for individualized medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.