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#58 | Relax button: Vagus nerve

SMP LeaderTalks

19. June 2024

Georgiy Michailov meets Prof. Dr. Kuno Hottenrott

The nervous system, heart rate variability and the perfect workout.

56 Min

"We can stimulate our parasympathetic nervous system with our breathing."

Work off, relaxation on. A nice idea, but unfortunately not realistic to put into practice. Unfortunately, the button that you can press to switch off in seconds after a stressful day at work has not yet been invented. What nature has invented instead is our vagus nerve, which plays a crucial role in relaxation and regeneration. The good thing is that we can stimulate our vagus nerve easily and at any time with the help of breathing, according to our guest on the latest SMP LeaderTalk episode.

"We can't just do HIT - we also need relaxing training sessions."

Prof. Dr. Kuno Hottenrott is a renowned sports scientist at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg in the field of training science and sports medicine. He specializes in improving the performance of top athletes through research into heart variability. He is currently training his own daughter Laura on her way to this year's Olympics. The secret of his training plan? Incorporating enough relaxing workouts that stimulate the vagus nerve.

"There is no such thing as the perfect universal training plan."

Hottenrott talks to Georgiy Michailov about how findings from high-performance diagnostics can support us in our everyday lives. How we can press our inner relaxation button during the day. And how the training plan of amateur athletes can also be optimized with the right diet and nutritional supplements.

*Video only in German

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