I used to wake up at 4am, toss and turn, but the frozen pea hack changed my life.

We’ve all tried reading a book, breathing deeply, and counting sheep to go to sleep.

But one woman has claimed holding frozen peas for her examination “changed her life”.

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In a spread TikTok videotapes, Frankie Simmons explains how the hack got her out of the habit of waking up at 4 a.m. every night.

She said: “A few years ago, it was very common for me to wake up at 4am worry anytime.

“And I had to pull myself out of bed and do all the breathing and energy work and drink the tea, and spend forever trying to calm myself down to come back. sleep.

“All of that changed the day I found out about freezing your vagus nerve.”

The vagus nerve begins in the brain and travels down the neck, chest, and abdomen. There is one on each side of the body.

You’ve probably never heard of the vagus nerve, even though it’s so important to your body’s functions.

It’s part of the autonomic nervous system, which means it’s involved in reducing heart rate, alertness, and blood pressure — helping to calm and relax — among other things.

For example, the vagus nerve stimulates certain muscles in the heart that help slow the heart rate.

The sympathetic nervous system does the opposite, increasing alertness, heart rate, and more.

Frankie says applying cold to the vagus nerve “stimulates.” [the vagus nerve] and help it work better”, as well as “reducing inflammation”.

“You can do this by taking an ice cold shower. You can do this by taking a dip in ice-cold pools of water,” says Frankie.

“But, if you want to reduce the discomfort, just place an ice pack on the center of your chest. Wrap it in a towel, put it right there, lie down for at least 15 minutes and it’s a game changer.

“When I found [out about] this… I didn’t even have an ice pack at the time, I just went to the freezer, got a pack of peas, put it between my chest and I’ll be right back.

“It changed my life. I want people to know about this magic.”

One fan of the technique is Dr David Clancy, a lecturer in the Department of Biomedical and Life Sciences at Lancaster University, who says he sometimes uses freezing to help go to sleep.

He told The Sun: “The idea is that it stimulates the parasympathetic part of the autonomic nervous system to move from a state of tension (fly/fly) to calm.

“The evidence is still not strong enough, but there are some suggestions that it may be helpful.”

The vagus nerve has been implicated in many medical conditions, including depression, heart disease, epilepsy, and headaches.

A device that can be implanted under the skin to stimulate nerves has been approved for depression and epilepsy in the US.

The idea is that it stimulates the parasympathetic part of the autonomic nervous system to transition from a state of tension (fly/fly) to calm.

Dr. David ClancyLecturer in the Department of Biomedical and Life Sciences at Lancaster University

Experts are still learning more about “vagal nerve stimulation” to promote health.

But some people have found natural ways to make it work, claiming it has saved lives.

This includes exposure to conditions that are too cold, such as taking a cold shower or – like Frankie – applying ice to the neck or chest.

Deep breathing and meditation are also touted as a way to “hit a vague tone” (activity).

While these types of methods need more research, some experts believe they make a difference.

The Swiss psychiatrists wrote that enhancing the vagus sound “through meditation and yoga may contribute to resilience and reduce symptoms of mood and anxiety”.

They say in their paper that high timbre is “correlated with the ability to modulate the response to stress”.

“Vaginal nerve stimulation and several meditation techniques demonstrate that modulating the vagus nerve has therapeutic effects, mainly due to its relaxing and anti-inflammatory properties.”

Healthline also reports that “people with strong vaginas may find it easier to relax after a stressful event and their bodies may have better control over inflammatory and intestinal issues.”

It suggests that conditions associated with inflammation may benefit from vagus nerve stimulation, including IBS.