We all know that a range of good lifestyle habits promotes a healthy heart—from exercise to stress management to diet and nutrition. But what about sitting around and “tickling your ear” for 15 minutes a day?

It turns out that “tickling” your ear with a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) machine for a few minutes a day might be an innovative way to condition your heart. TENS machines do as the name suggests—they stimulate nerves by transmitting electrical pulses through the skin. When used properly, a gentle tingling sensation is felt from TENS.

TENS AND THE STRESS RESPONSE

TENS has been in use for some time and has already been scientifically proven to relieve pain caused by a variety of health conditions, including arthritis, muscle strain, backache and nerve damage. Recently a group of British researchers decided to test whether TENS could be useful in a more general way—whether it could stimulate the vagus nerve to put a person’s nervous system in a more parasympathetic (calm and restful) mode as opposed to a sympathetic (stressed, “fight or flight”) mode. Although their study was small and included healthy volunteers, their ultimate aim is to prove that TENS is an effective way to encourage heart health by toning down the sympathetic nervous system, which, when chronically overactive, causes arteries to constrict and the heart to work harder, leading to heart damage.

Because the vagus nerve, which extends from the brain to the abdomen, controls involuntary (parasympathetic) neuromuscular functions such as heart beat, vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is being studied for treatment of heart disease. But VNS involves expensive and potentially risky surgery to implant a nerve stimulator in the body. TENS, on the other hand, delivers electrical stimulation through pads and electrodes that are temporarily placed on the skin.

So the British team, which referred to their TENS VNS technique as transcutaneous noninvasive VNS (tVNS), placed electrodes on the ears of 48 healthy people to target the part of the vagus nerve that branches into the ear. Only 34 of the study participants actually received a tVNS session, which lasted 15 minutes. The remaining participants, who received a sham procedure, acted as the control group. The specific part of the ear that was treated was the tragus, the small flap of cartilage that is directly over the ear canal.

The results were unmistakable. Sure enough, the nervous system was 50% calmer, on average, as measured by electrocardiogram in people receiving tVNS than in those receiving sham tVNS, and the effects lasted through the 15-minute observation period after the tVNS session ended. For healthy people, this means that tVNS could have a calming influence that helps promote cardiovascular health. If a similar effect can be achieved in people who have heart disease, it means that tVNS could complement or replace other treatments, such as beta-blocker drugs, to reestablish normal nervous system control of the heart muscle. The research team also believes that tVNS could be especially useful in promoting heart health and preventing heart attacks in older or sedentary people, who tend to have more active sympathetic than parasympathetic nervous systems.

HOW TO GET AND USE TENS

TENS is known to be safe even with long-term use, but overuse, such as using more current than needed, can cause skin irritation, pain and muscle twitching. It is also not recommended for use during pregnancy, because effects on the fetus are not known, and it should not be used by people with pacemakers or other implantable devices because TENS can interfere with them.

As for the tVNS study, no negative effects were seen, but more research in larger study groups will need to be done before doctors start recommending tVNS for heart health. Still, even today, TENS of the external ear is something that a person can try at home once he or she knows how to properly use a TENS machine.

Although anyone can purchase a TENS unit, you might want to consult a physical therapist for instruction on how to most effectively and safely use one in relation to your individual health needs. You can find physical therapists in your area through the American Physical Therapy Association.

Results vary from one person to the next and depend on the type of machine used—which is another reason why working with a physical therapist to start might be a good idea. The physical therapist can arrange for you to try a few different TENS units to see which works best for you. Prices generally range from $40 to $200. It might be a useful tool in your stress-management and heart-health arsenal.