Cover Your Ears and Hum — You Have to Feel This | Dr. Mandell

Activate Your Healing System with Humming [0:00]

• A simple technique using voice, breath, and hands can profoundly impact your body and brain.
• Benefits span nearly every system, from calming anxiety and improving sleep to lowering blood pressure and aiding digestion.
• It addresses conditions like tinnitus and vertigo by tapping into your body's healing system.

  "what i'm about to show you is rooted in real neurology and it can make a profound difference in your body and your brain"

The Humming Technique Explained [0:39]

• Sit tall, breathe deeply, and begin humming for five to six seconds.
• Repeat this humming for two or three rounds.
• On the next round, cover your ears with your palms while humming.

  "now on your next round i want you to cover your ears with your palms and hum again"

Bone Conduction and Internal Resonance [1:03]

• Covering your ears intensifies the vibration and shifts the sound inward via bone conduction.
• Vibrations transmit through skull bones directly to the inner ear, especially the cochlea.
• This internal resonance activates neural circuits in the brainstem and limbic system, controlling autonomic functions and emotional tone.

  "that's called bone conduction instead of traveling through the ear to your eardrum the vibration is now transmitting through the bones of your skull directly to your inner ear"

Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Parasympathetic Activation [1:43]

• Humming, particularly with ears covered, stimulates the vagus nerve.
• This nerve transmits vibrations from the brainstem through the throat, lungs, heart, and gut.
• Vagus nerve activation turns on the parasympathetic nervous system, responsible for rest, repair, digestion, immune balance, and emotional calm.

  "when that vagus nerve is activated it turns on that parasympathetic nervous system responsible for rest repair digestion immune balance and emotional calm"

Benefits of Regular Humming [2:17]

• People who hum regularly often experience better sleep, improved digestion, slower heart rate, and reduced anxiety.
• It calms the reticular activating system, the brain's alert filter.
• This technique is highly effective before bed, during stress, or when experiencing anxiety.

  "this is why people who hum regularly often experience better sleep improved digestion slower heart rate and reduced anxiety"

Retraining the Nervous System [2:45]

• The vibration retrains your nervous system and helps regulate auditory feedback loops, offering relief for tinnitus.
• It recalibrates the vestibular system, improving balance and helping with vertigo.
• The practice lowers sympathetic tone, reduces cortisol, and shifts the body into safety and recovery.

  "it recalibrates your vestibular system the part of your inner ear responsible for balance which is why how it can help people with vertigo how they feel more grounded"

Amplifying the Effects [3:18]

• Practice once in the morning, midday, and especially before bed for 30-60 seconds.
• Lower tones tend to produce stronger resonance; experiment with different pitches.
• Adding closed eyes, slower breathing, and gentle awareness amplifies the effect.

  "lower tones tend to produce stronger resonance so experiment with different pitches add closed eyes slower breathing and gentle awareness and you will amplify the effect so much more"

Resetting Your Brain and Body [3:41]

• The feeling experienced is your nervous system becoming more regulated.
• Never underestimate the power of your own nervous system and the vagus nerve.
• Covering your ears and humming resets your brain, calms your body, and promotes a more peaceful state.

  "when you cover your ears and home you're not just making a sound you're resetting your brain you're calming your body and stepping into a more peaceful version of yourself"