How Stress Affects Digestion
Date:
29 Jul 2024
Have you ever found yourself racing to the bathroom before a big test or perhaps feeling bloated after a stressful day at work? Almost all of us have a shared experience of a time when our gut has turned on us during stressful moments. If you're one of those people, you've come to the right place to find out why!
Dealing with stress can be a big challenge, affecting everyone's gut differently.
For some, stress slows digestion down, causing bloating, pain, and constipation. For others, it speeds things up, leading to diarrhoea and frequent trips to the bathroom. Some people lose their appetite entirely, while others overeat. Stress can also exacerbate digestive conditions like stomach ulcers and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). 1
So, how can we manage our stress to improve our gut health? Keep reading as we unpack the causes, symptoms, and some helpful tips on managing stress and gut health.
Can Stress Cause Bad Digestion?
Yes, stress and negative emotions can take a real toll on your gut. Stress can slow digestion, leading to bloating, pain, and constipation. On the contrary, it can also speed it up, causing diarrhoea and irregular bowel habits.
Stress is heavily linked to IBS and excessive bowel movements more than constipation. This is because stress can trigger signals in the brain that cause inflammation in the gut.4
This connection is often referred to as the gut-brain axis. Stress impacts our enteric nervous system, which affects our gut-brain axis, meaning stress on the brain can directly affect our gut and how we digest food.2
What Are the Symptoms of Stress in the Gut?
Stress in the gut can manifest in various ways, including gastric distress, such as heartburn, lack of appetite, or excessive hunger. If we aren't eating properly, we become more prone to headaches, fatigue, poor sleep, and overall poor well-being.6
How Do I Stop Stress from Affecting My Gut?
Here are some strategies to help manage stress and its effects on your digestion:
- Regular Physical Activity: Exercise can reduce stress and depression. Additionally, physical activity helps digestion by keeping food waste moving through our digestive tract.
- Breathing Exercises: Techniques like meditation, mindfulness, and relaxation exercises can help reduce stress and relax the bowel.
- Limit Caffeine: High doses of caffeine can increase anxiety levels. Found in coffee, tea, energy drinks, and chocolate, caffeine can irritate the gut lining when consumed in excess.5 Reducing caffeine intake can help lower the chances of an upset stomach, acid reflux, and aggravating GI disorders.
- Eat a Nutrient-Dense Diet: Maintaining healthy gut bacteria is crucial. A diet rich in whole foods, prebiotics, and unsaturated fats, including oily fish, olives, avocados, flaxseeds, and fibre, can support gut health and boost resilience to stress.3
Key Takeaways
And there we have it! So, going forward, if you ever feel like your gut has gone rogue during stressful moments, you're definitely not alone. Just as stress can wreak havoc on our digestion, understanding and managing it effectively can help restore balance and keep your gut in check.
By implementing the right stress management techniques, you can turn down the chaos and keep your gut happy and healthy, no matter what life throws at you!
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