It’s no secret that stress is bad for your health in the long run as well as the short term. This is particularly true when it comes to your digestive system. Indeed, a recent study found that those who were directly exposed to the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center (including rescue and recovery workers, local residents and area business people) suffered twice the incidence of new gastroesophageal reflux symptoms (like heartburn) compared to the general population, according to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. What’s more, persistent heartburn occurred most often among those who also developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
But stress doesn’t need to be of PTSD proportions to trigger symptoms. Even milder forms of stress -- like financial problems, work pressures or arguments with your spouse -- can affect the digestive tract, triggering abdominal discomfort, nausea, diarrhea or constipation, and aggravating conditions like heartburn or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), say experts. What’s the connection?
Stress and the “Gut-brain”
For one thing, “there is essentially an independent nervous system in the gut that sends information to, and receives information from, the brain,” explains Dr. Michael D. Gershon, a professor of pathology and cell biology at Columbia University and author of The Second Brain: A Groundbreaking New Understanding of Nervous Disorders of the Stomach and Intestine. This two-way transmission of information occurs via the vagus nerve and is critical for survival. When you eat something that could make you sick or perhaps even kill you, it’s this second brain in the gut that protects you by triggering nausea and making you vomit. But stress and other factors can make this gut-brain communication go awry, triggering symptoms like heartburn or IBS, which serve no useful purpose.
Stress and Serotonin
In addition, stress is known to trigger painful spasms in the colon in some people with IBS, explains Dr. Cindy Yoshida, a gastroenterologist in Charlottesville, Va., and author of No More Digestive Problems. For others, stress can increase the sensitivity of the nerves within the digestive tract, causing even normal bowel contractions to be painful. Why this occurs is not clear, but a major culprit may be serotonin, a feel-good neurotransmitter that can give you feelings of calmness and tranquility and also regulate intestinal movements. Indeed, “a whopping 95 percent of the serotonin that’s manufactured in your body is found in your gastrointestinal tract,” she says.
Stress Hormones
Meanwhile, when your brain senses emotional turmoil, it releases stress hormones like cortisol and epinephrine, causing an increase in blood pressure, pulse, breathing rate and muscle tension. The gut-brain may respond to these stress chemicals by sending nerve signals back up to the brain that register as gastrointestinal discomfort, cramping and other unpleasant symptoms, says Gershon. Sometimes this two-way communication system can lead to a vicious cycle in which stress triggers digestive symptoms, which leads to more stress and so on.
What to Do?
If stress is upsetting your digestive system, it’s time to take steps to reduce it. Among the many stress-management tools out there, consider these top picks:
• Set limits, delegate nonessential responsibilities and adopt better time-management skills.
• Consider biofeedback. This mind-body technique uses electrical sensors to help you learn how to relax certain muscles and “can be helpful in training people to calm the gut down,” says Gershon.
• Try hypnosis or meditation. Indeed, a recent study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that mindfulness training significantly improves the severity of symptoms among women with IBS. (For more on mindfulness meditation, check out “Simple Meditation Exercises for Better Health.”)
The key to managing stress, says Yoshida, is to find what works for you and use it regularly.
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