Stress & Digestion
How does our stress affect our digestion?
Well, first let’s consider what constitutes as stress. The brain doesn’t differentiate physical stress from psychological stress. Therefore, stress to our body is anything from negative thoughts, threats, and willful sleep deprivation (psychological stressors) to trauma from an accident, infections, over-exercising, and sleep deprivation/insomnia (physical stress).
The normal, short-lived, stress response by our body to these stressors is the activation of our sympathetic nervous system or better known as our “fight or flight” response. You know the one that is activated when a bear is chasing you in the woods! Our body responds to all the above stressors as if they are the bear!
The fight or flight responses include:
Increased heart rate
Constriction of blood vessels to viscera & skin
Dilation of blood vessels to heart, lungs, brain, and skeletal muscles (so you can run from the bear aka the stressor)
Contraction of spleen
Conversion of glycogen (stored sugar) into glucose (sugar) in the liver (again so you have an burst of energy to run from the bear aka perceived the stressor)
Sweating
Dilation of airways
DECREASE IN DIGESTIVE ACTIVITIES
Water retention and elevated blood pressure
Ok, so these are all NORMAL responses and we want them to occur in response to a stressor, especially if that bear is chasing us!
The problem then lies in the fact that most of us today live in a state of CHRONIC STRESS. Meaning we constantly have these perceived stressors overloading our system (work stress, sleep deprivation, over-exercising, under-eating, etc…) When this happens our hypothalamic (endocrine gland) releasing hormones sustain the stress response causing a resistance reaction aka chronic stress.
So how does this tie into our digestion exactly?
When we are constantly in a state of stress, as mentioned above, we have decreased digestive functions. Our body thinks that we need to be pumping all our blood and focus onto our body systems like our heart, lungs, and muscles so that we can run form the bear (the perceived stressor), and limits the blood and activity of the digestive system. Because who cares about eating or pooping when you have a bear chasing you?
Why does this matter?
When our digestive system isn’t functioning optimally we aren’t breaking down our food which means we aren’t absorbing it either. This leads to nutritional deficiencies, lethargy, brain fog, reproductive difficulties, menstrual cycle disturbances, gut infections, a decrease in immune system, and more!
Our overall health is dependent on a healthy digestive system.
So, what can we do to decrease stress & improve digestion?
Decreasing stress
Light to Moderate exercise daily like yoga and walks
Set up good sleep habits, ensure you are getting 8-9 hours of sleep, go to bed before 10 pm
Turn off your phone/manage screen time. Always being available via text/FB/email is a stressor
Get outside in the sunshine
Download the IBreathe app and take breaks through the day to breath deep
Improving Digestion
Avoid foods that are inflammatory (sugar, processed foods, pesticides, conventional dairy, eggs, gluten, and wheat)
Sit down to eat
Take a few deep breaths before meals (get out of the fight or flight/stress response)
Eat slowly and chew your food well
Avoid drinking liquids with your meals