130,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock πŸ‡³πŸ‡Ώ

The Great Nerve

The New Science of the Vagus Nerve and How to Harness Its Healing Reflexes
4.02 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating.
( 373 ratings, 42 reviews)
Brief Description
Explore the astonishing potential of the vagus nerve to regulate your body's vital systems and transform your health. Your health and happiness depend on a bundle of 200,000 nerve fibres that hold the secrets to life itself. The vagus nerve is often referred to as the... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK Please add to wishlist to be notified when back in stock

Sorry, we're currently out of stock of The Great Nerve. Please add to your Wishlist and we'll send you an email as soon as it's back in stock.

The 'great nerve' vibrates in tune with your health like the instruments of an orchestra: when your vagus nerve is healthy, so are you. When it isn’t, you experience everything from poor sleep to low mood, pain, suffering and chronic illness.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Explore the astonishing potential of the vagus nerve to regulate your body's vital systems and transform your health.

Your health and happiness depend on a bundle of 200,000 nerve fibres that hold the secrets to life itself.

The vagus nerve is often referred to as the 'superhighway' which connects every organ of the body to the brain, and vice versa, but it is so much more than just traffic.

The 'great nerve' vibrates in tune with your health like the instruments of an orchestra – when your vagus nerve is healthy, so are you. When it isn't, you experience everything from poor sleep to low mood, pain, suffering, and chronic illness.

Recent scientific developments, including Dr Kevin Tracey's research showing how the vagus nerve is linked to the immune system, have brought the nerve to the attention of everyone from neuroscientists to TikTok influencers.

In The Great Nerve, Dr Tracey shares the science of how the vagus nerve operates to regulate our health, how we can help it, and the truth behind popular 'vagus nerve stimulating' strategies such as ice baths, meditation, exercise, and breathwork.

He reveals the extraordinary new science that promises to revolutionise healthcare, where computer chips may regulate your blood sugar, and electrical implants may replace your medications forever.

Trailblazing vagus nerve stimulation therapy is demonstrating potential to reverse life-altering diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, lupus, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, obesity, stroke, depression, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's.

The Great Nerve not only revolutionises how we will understand and treat disease, it gives us unprecedented hope for our health.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780241762417

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 15 May 2025

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Life

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 25.0mm

Width: 155.0mm

Height: 234.0mm

Weight: 392g

Pages: 320

About the Author

Dr Kevin Tracey is a neurosurgeon, scientist, entrepreneur, and leader in the fields of inflammation and vagus nerve stimulation. Along with his colleagues in his lab at the Feinstein Institutes, Dr. Tracey discovered the molecular and neural mechanism for the reflexive control of inflammation, now termed the inflammatory reflex. He is a prolific inventor with more than 120 U.S. patents. As measured by and reported in the scientific journal PLOS One, Dr. Tracey is one of the most highly cited living scientists in the world.

Also by Dr Kevin Tracey

View all
  • The Great Nerve
    Explore the astonishing potential of the vagus nerve to regulate your body's vital systems and transform your health 'A masterpiece and a timeless document for those who want to see what science is all about- faith, focus, patience and hard work,' - Wim Hof 'A game changer ... learn how the connection between your brain, gut and immune system can...
    Paperback
    $3000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

More from Health & Wellness

View all
  • Dad, I Want to Hear Your Story (Expanded Edition)
    Honour his legacy with the greatest gift of allβ€”his story. The Official Hear Your Story Collection Your dad's story is more than just memoriesβ€”it's a journey filled with wisdom, experiences, and defining moments that shaped his life. Dad, I Want to Hear Your Story is a guided journal that gives him the chance to share those stories in his own...
    Paperback
    $1999
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Atomic Habits
    Atomic Habits by James Clear is a transformative guide that demonstrates how tiny, incremental changes in behaviour can fundamentally reshape your life. Rather than urging sweeping transformations, Clear advocates for the compound effect of hundreds of small decisions. Whether it’s performing two push-ups a day, waking up five minutes earlier, or making a brief, focused phone call, these minuscule adjustments,...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $4000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Calamity Club
    The Calamity Club is Kathryn Stockett's first novel since the global bestselling phenomenon The Help. This sweeping story follows a group of underestimated women and an 11-year-old orphan girl whose fates converge in Mississippi in 1933. Oxford, Mississippi, 1933. Eleven-year-old Meg Lefleur has learned the hard way to rely on no one. Ever since her beloved mother failed to come...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Age Code
    What if the food you eat could rewind your biological clock? 'Clear and compelling' β€” Chris van Tulleken 'Really interesting and insightful' β€” Joe Wicks 'Fascinating' β€” Tim Spector From the rising incidence of cancer in the under-50s to increased infertility rates, there are signs everywhere that growing numbers of us are ageing too quickly. Why? Many believe there’s one...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • "What Were You Thinking!?"
    Everything parents need to know about their baby, child or teen's developing brain to raise resilient, emotional intelligent kids, by globally renowned neuroscience educator Nathan Wallis. 'What were you thinking!?'If you've ever asked this in despair while watching a toddler melt down, a tween push boundaries or a teenager make a truly terrible decision, this book is for you.InΒ "What Were...
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Hormone Health is Mental Health
    New Release
    Hormone Health is Mental Health
    Hormone Health is Mental Health is a lifechanging guide to understanding perimenopause and midlife women's mental health - and how understanding your hormones is the first step to feeling like yourself again. This book is for women in their thirties, forties, and fifties who feel like they're falling apart. Women who feel like their brains and bodies are betraying them,...
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $4000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Crescent City Paperback Box Set
    A beautiful box set containing all three paperback instalments of the Crescent City series from #1 bestselling global phenomenon Sarah J. Maas. BOUND BY BLOOD. TEMPTED BY DESIRE. UNLEASHED BY DESTINY. Maas has established herself as a fantasy fiction titan - Time Think Game of Thrones meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer with a drizzle of E.L. James – Telegraph Spiced...
    Set
    $5499
    Elsewhere:
    $7000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Strangers
    The must-read memoir of the end of a marriage and the start of a personal revolution, based on the iconic Modern Love essay in the New York Times and perfect for fans of Glennon Doyle. "A beautifully written eulogy for the loss of a relationship" β€” Joyce Carol Oates How do we go on when a loved one betrays us?...
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $4000
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Surviving White Island
    Surviving White Island - Surviving the unsurvivable. Healing from the unhealable. This is an inspiring memoir of physical and mental recovery, from someone who lived through the Whakaari White Island volcanic eruption. "I heard someone say, 'Wow!' And someone else exclaimed, 'Look at that!' I had my back to the crater. I turned around. The moment I saw it, I...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (6)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • 2027 Witch's Diary - Southern Hemisphere
    From the bestselling authors of Spellcasting, which has now sold over 250,000 copies worldwide, comes the essential witchy journal to plan your days, harness magick, and connect with higher powers. Features include: 8" x 6" (8" x 12" open) Beautiful glossy gold gatefold cover Compact size, perfect to carry in your bag and keep on you throughout the day 12-month...
    Paperback
    $1999
    Elsewhere:
    $2299
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Power of Hormones
    For decades, three vital hormones in the female body, progesterone, estrogen andtestosterone, have been misunderstood, dismissed and feared. Their critical roles inimproving function of women's brains, bones, hearts and long-term health have beenignored. Confusion between natural, body identical hormones and synthetic, chemically altered'hormones' has fuelled fear, distorted medical guidelines and shaped media narratives.The result? Countless women struggling with hormone imbalances...
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    Quicksilver
    Do not touch the sword. Do not turn the key. Do not open the gate. Twenty-four-year-old Saeris Fane is good at keeping secrets. No one knows about the strange powers she possesses, or the fact that she has been picking pockets and stealing from the Undying Queen's reservoirs for as long as she can remember. But a secret is like...
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.