The geese are heading south right now. In the late afternoon, just before the sun starts to set, I see them in their V formations, silhouetted against the sky. I guess they're headed now for warmer places.Maybe they're headed to where you are. I started wondering how they sleep while migrating, and it turns out they just use half their brains. It's called unihemispheric slow-wave sleep, and it allows half their brain to rest, while the other half stays awake and alert, and then it switches. Their bodies have evolved in such a unique way to make sleep happen efficiently and smoothly, and it's not just the geese. Every animal achieves sleep in its own efficient and unique way. Even us.Even though it may not seem like it at this minute, as you're trying, maybe desperately, to fall asleep. Our bodies depend a lot on the vagus nerve to make sleep happen. All vertebrates have a vagus nerve, and it's one of the most interesting parts of your body. It's this long wandering nerve that starts at the base of your brain, and travels down through your whole body, branching out like roots through soil, touching your heart, your lungs, your digestive system, and so much more. The word vagus actually means wanderer in latin, and that's what this nerve does. It wanders through you, connecting your brain to nearly every major organ, carrying messages back and forth in this constant, quiet conversation. And your vagus nerve is the main pathway of your parasympathetic nervous system. That's the part of you that handles rest and healing. When your vagus nerve is activated, your heart rate slows, your breathing deepens, your muscles release their tension, and your body temperature drops.Everything shifts into rest mode. It's like your vagus nerve is a messenger that travels through your body, letting every part of you know that it's time to prepare for sleep. And you can learn to activate this system yourself. You can send that message deliberately whenever you need it. Tonight, I'm going to show you exactly how to activate your vagus nerve and let it do what it does best, guide you into deep restorative sleep. But first, as always, please make sure you're somewhere safe to fall asleep.This episode is designed to relax you deeply, so you want to be in bed and not anywhere you need to stay alert. And if this episode helps you tonight, please consider following the show or leaving a review. I know it's asking a lot from someone who's probably going to be literally unconscious by the end of every episode. It's kind of like running a restaurant where everyone falls asleep before dessert and then trying to get them to fill out a comment card. But those follows and reviews are what helps this little independent podcast keep growing. If you're still awake later, or if you remember in the morning, I would be very grateful.Right now, I just want you to notice your breathing. Don't try to change it yet. Just become aware of it.Feel where the breath moves in your body. And gently, without forcing anything, let your breath begin to deepen. Let it slow down. Just slightly. There's no special technique here. No counting.No holding. Just let your body breathe a little more fully. A little more slowly.Just like that. Be very aware of your breathing. Make it slow and deep.With each breath, you're sending a signal through your vagus nerve. Each slow inhale. Each exhale is activating this calming system.Your body recognizes this rhythm. It knows what it means. Slow breathing equals safety.Slow breathing equals rest. Feel how your shoulders can soften now. Let them drop away from your ears. There's so much tension we hold in our shoulders. Your trapezius muscles, those large triangular muscles that span from your neck across your shoulders and down your lower back, they work hard all day. Let them rest now.Let them release in your jaw. Notice if you're clenching your jaw even slightly. Those muscles along the sides of your face are the strongest muscles in your body relative to their size. They can hold so much tension. Let your jaw relax. Let your teeth part slightly. Feel how good it is to be here. Lying in your bed. This safe, comfortable place that's yours. You've done so much today. Even if your day didn't go exactly as planned. Even if you didn't accomplish everything on your list.You did your best with what you had. And that's more than enough. You made decisions.You interacted with people. You worried about things. You carried responsibilities.You did all this. And you're still here. Still trying.Still moving forward. And now, you can put it all down. Every single thing that happened today.Every worry about tomorrow. You can set it all aside. Right now.In this moment. There is nothing you need to do. Nothing you need to fix. Or solve. Or think about. All you need to do is breathe.And rest. And let yourself be held by this bed. By this darkness.By this quiet. Keep breathing slowly. Deeply.Feel your body growing heavier with each exhale. Sinking a little more into your mattress. Your vagus nerve is working now.Sending those calming signals throughout your body. Preparing you for sleep. Now I want you to focus more carefully on my voice. Let my words become the only thing that matters right now. If other sounds drift in. A distant car.The hum of the world beyond your window. Just notice them. And let them fade back into the background.Always return to my voice. Let it anchor you. Guide you.Carry you. Deeper. As you lie here.Breathing slowly. Your vagus nerve is doing exactly what it was designed to do. It's reaching out through your body.Touching your heart. Your lungs. Your stomach.Every system. Sending the message. Rest now.Sleep now. You're safe. Your heart knows to slow its rhythm. Your breathing knows to deepen and steady. Your muscles know to release their hold. Every individual system in your amazing body is connected.Communicating. Working together in perfect harmony to prepare you for sleep. And this interconnection doesn't stop with you. Everything in this world is connected in the same way. Our highways linking cities together. Our oceans touching every shore.Our communities woven through with countless invisible threads of relationship and shared experience. Our individual lives. Each one connected to the next. Part of something larger than ourselves. Your body is like that too. A system of systems. All connected. All responding to the same signal that's traveling through you right now. Carried along the pathways of your vagus nerve.And you can feel it, can't you? That shift happening inside you. Your heart beating a little slower. The gentle heaviness spreading through your limbs.In your mind's eye, imagine your vagus nerve now. Picture it as a softly glowing pathway running through your body. And watch as gentle pulses of light begin to travel along it.Slow waves of pale blue light moving downward. Blowing through this living pathway like a calm current. Each pulse carries a message. Each wave of light whispers the same instruction to every part of you it touches. Slow down. Let go.Rest. Watch as one of these gentle pulses reaches your heart. The moment it arrives, you can see your heart respond.Its rhythm shifts. Slowing. Just slightly. Steady. Strong. Peaceful.If you could see your heart rate displayed like numbers on a screen, you'd watch those numbers. Dropping. 80 beats per minute.And then 75. Then 70. Your heart finding its perfect resting rhythm. Keep breathing slowly. Deeply. Each breath you take sends another calming pulse along that glowing pathway.Another wave of light travels through the nerve. And this time you see it affect your blood vessels. Watch as they relax.Widening just slightly. Your blood pressure dropping. Gently.Naturally. Like a river that was rushing. Now slowing to a peaceful flow. The pressure easing. Everything becoming softer. More open.More at ease. In. And out. Keep breathing. And watch as the pulses of light reach your brain. Imagine you could see your brainwaves. Those electrical patterns that show what state your mind is in. During the day, they're quick and sharp. Beta waves.Fast and alert. But look what's happening now. As each calming pulse arrives, those brainwaves begin to change.They're slowing down. Lengthening. Becoming the long, rolling waves of theta. The brainwaves of deep relaxation. Of drowsiness. Of that space.Just before sleep. Your entire brain is shifting states. Letting go of alertness.Releasing its grip on wakefulness. Drifting into that soft, hazy place. Between awake and asleep.Feel how heavy your body has become. Your head sinking into your pillow. Your shoulders melting into the mattress.Your arms and legs. So heavy. They feel like they're part of the bed itself.You couldn't move them, even if you wanted to. And you don't want to. Watch as more pulses travel along your vagus nerve. Reaching your muscles now. With each pulse, another wave of tension releases. The tiny muscles around your eyes let go.The muscles in your jaw soften. Your neck. Your shoulders.Your back. All of them receiving the message. And responding.Releasing. Melting. Becoming heavy.And still. There's such comfort in this heaviness. In this stillness.Nothing to do. Nowhere to go. Just this moment.Just this breath. Just this perfect, peaceful, quiet. The day is done now.Truly done. And you did so much today. You might not feel like you did. You might be lying here, thinking about everything you didn't finish. All the things still on your list. All the ways you fell short of what you'd hoped to accomplish. But that's not the whole story. Think about what you actually did today. You showed up.You moved through your day. Even when it was hard. Even when you were tired. Even when you didn't feel like it. That alone is something. That alone matters. And beyond that. Beyond the tasks and the to-do lists. Think about the small things you did that you probably don't even remember. The smile you gave someone in passing. The door you held open. The kind word you offered when someone seemed stressed. The patience you showed when you wanted to snap. The way you listened. Really listened when someone needed to talk.

These moments seem small. Inconsequential. But they're not. Each one of them made someone's day a little bit better. Each one sent a ripple out into the world. Someone went home feeling a little lighter because of something you said. Someone felt seen because you noticed them. Someone felt less alone because you were kind.

You don't get thanked for most of these things. No one keeps track. No one gives you credit. But these small acts—these tiny moments of thoughtfulness and care—they're what make the small portion of the world you live in a better place. And that matters. 

You have a place in this world that no one but you can fill. The specific combination of who you are, where you are, what you notice, what you care about—it's unique. It's irreplaceable. And the people in your life, even the ones you barely know, they're better off because you're here.

We're all connected in that way. Every small kindness you offer creates a space for someone else to be kind. Every moment of patience you show makes it easier for someone else to be patient. We're all affecting each other, all the time, in ways we can barely comprehend.

And now you can rest. You've done enough. You've been enough. You are enough.

Your breathing is so slow now. So steady. In... and out. In... and out. The rhythm of it carrying you deeper.

Notice how your thoughts have changed. They're not sharp anymore. They're soft now. Drifting past like clouds. You don't need to hold onto them. You don't need to follow them. Just let them float by.

This is the space between waking and sleeping. This soft, dreamy space where everything feels far away and quiet. You're safe here. Held here. There's nothing to worry about in this space.

Your vagus nerve continues sending those gentle pulses of light through your body. Wave after wave of calm. And with each pulse, you drift a little deeper. A little further from wakefulness. A little closer to sleep.

There's nothing to resist. Nothing to fight. Just this gentle pull downward into rest.

Into sleep. I'm Suzanne. This is your ticket to snoozeville. Sleep now. Sleep deeply. Sleep now.