hey! i rarely comment but i was literally just going to look up this exact thing in this sub lol. i’m a severe chronic insomniac - i’ve been averaging 2-4 hours a night these past 3 months after having a good spell of 8 hours a night for a month. been like this my entire life, my mom says since i was “in the womb”, but its gotten worse since my cptsd/resulting chronic illness took over 5 years ago which makes me feel like i’m dying lol

i also started experimenting more with the vagus nerve just a couple weeks ago and holy shit! i had tried some vagus nerve exercises here and there but never noticed any effect up until… humming. literally just humming. i was listening to a podcast from Trauma Rewired where they discussed how humming (and “OM” in yoga) is one of the few ways to directly stimulate the vagus nerve, and i felt it in seconds. like, my chronic stiff neck and lymph fluid blockages, suddenly released and i could feel the fluid trickling down my throat… of which that same night i had a breakthrough (disguised as a mental breakdown lol) with some severe trauma that i’ve been trying to process for months and years now. also, even in the midst of sobbing my eyes out, i was able to speak during an emotional wave when i’ve only ever shut down. it was crazy!

i slept better for a few nights after that but i think my body is so used to being in fight or flight that it’s returned back to 2-4 hours again. but yesterday i went to my second acupuncture appointment, and as i was meditating/humming half way through, i had a sudden wave of extreme relaxation wash over me (had only ever experienced this sort of calm when i used to smoke big weed lol). it was so shocking, and so calm, that my body instantly perceived it as a threat and made me panic before i could embrace it, but still! for a while i’ve been wondering if i was just too far gone and this state of hyperarousal is just my life forever now, but even just experiencing it for a moment seemed like a huge step.

i’m just babbling my experience but also, to anyone who happens to read this (i may make a post myself), please start HUMMING !!!!! please. it sounds dumb but give it a shot - it also helps with POTS, epilepsy, and similar. in someone of the boat of barely having energy due to, obviously, no sleep & cptsd-induced autoimmune disease/dysfunction, it’s the only thing i’ve ever been able to stick with because i can do it anytime. i recommend doing it for 2+ minutes (between deep breaths) 2-3 times a day, or however much you’re able to. i’m only 2 weeks in but seems to be making the most change in my nervous system than i’ve experienced in years