Stress Disrupts Digestion: These Mindfulness Practices May Help 

Digestion starts in the mind. This is something we don’t always realize or think about, but it’s actually an important part of understanding the digestive process and the different ways it can be disrupted. 

This is relevant for anyone who experiences chronic digestive problems like bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea, abdominal pain, reflux, or other symptoms that don’t seem to have an explanation, like ongoing fatigue, brain fog, or joint pain. 

When we view digestion holistically and think about the whole start-to-finish process, we can often identify where there might be room for improvement, and step in with simple strategies that can make a huge difference. I see this all the time with stress—it’s often a key piece of the puzzle for my functional medicine telehealth patients who are dealing with chronic digestive issues. 

And by understanding the role and impact of stress, and implementing a simple mindfulness practice or two, we often see meaningful improvements in gut health. This is something I see even (maybe especially) with patients who feel like they’ve tried everything. So, let’s get into it. 

How Stress Impacts Digestion 

From a big picture standpoint, there are two main kinds of stress that can impact digestion. One is chronic stress: ongoing emotional, mental, physical, and/or spiritual burdens or stressors that take a toll on the gut and the immune system over time. These are the things we tend to think of when we hear the word “stress”, including difficult situations or pressures at work, challenging relationships, financial insecurity, overwhelming responsibilities, or chronic illness. 

Chronic stress can lead to chronic inflammation, hormonal imbalance, and immune system activation, which can then lead to disruptions in the gut microbiome, increased intestinal permeability, and other digestive problems. (1-3) 

And then there’s acute stress, or more specifically, eating while in a state of stress. The autonomic nervous system (ANS), which regulates involuntary or unconscious processes throughout the body (like heart rate, blood pressure, and digestion), is divided into two main branches: sympathetic (“fight or flight”) and parasympathetic (“rest and digest”). 

In order to properly digest our food, we have to be in a parasympathetic state. It’s in this state that we produce and secrete adequate digestive enzymes, saliva, and stomach acid to break down our food, and that processes like peristalsis (the wave-like contractions that move food through the digestive tract) occur efficiently. Blood flow to the digestive tract during this state also enables us to absorb nutrients from our food. 

When we’re in a sympathetic or stressed state, the body directs its resources, attention, and bloodflow towards fighting or running from danger. This means directing resources away from any processes that aren’t required to survive the danger, including digestion. Eating in this state often means that our bodies are not able to properly break down, process, or absorb food, which can lead to digestive and other symptoms. 

Simple Mindfulness Practices: Before Meals

For chronic digestive and other health concerns, it’s always important to address chronic, ongoing, underlying stress and/or emotional trauma. This is a cornerstone of holistic healing, and it’s a long-term process. At the same time, there are very simple things we can all do starting with our next meal to help shift into a parasympathetic state before eating and allow for better digestion right away. Here are some of my favorite mindfulness practices and habits to try before meals. 

Focus On Your Food 

One of the most effective ways to shift into a parasympathetic state is to practice just focusing on eating and doing nothing else. 

So many of us are in the habit of eating while we’re doing other things. We eat on the move while driving the kids to school. We’re busy at work, so we grab a lunch we can eat at our desks while replying to emails. It’s been a long day, so we sit in front of the TV while having dinner. Or we sit scrolling through social media while eating. 

All of these habits are likely to keep us in a sympathetic state. Making a point of sitting down to a meal and simply focusing on that meal can make a big difference. 

I also live in the real world and know that sometimes, eating on the move or multitasking is still going to happen. This isn’t to shame anyone who is trying to balance a million responsibilities and still get themselves fed. But I do think the more mindful and aware we can be, the better, and keep in mind that the goal isn’t perfection. Start from where you are, and just try to make space to focus on eating when you can. 

Gratitude and Grounding 

This goes hand in hand with focusing on your food, but it can be done anywhere, anytime, in as little as 30-60 seconds. It’s the practice of centering yourself and expressing, whether out loud or in your head, gratitude for the food in front of you. During shared meals, you may also wish to express gratitude for the people you’re eating with. 

There are a number of different ways you can ground yourself around this practice and help to ease your nervous system into parasympathetic mode. One practice that can be very powerful in connecting us to the earth and to ourselves is thinking about where and how the food in front of you was grown, and cultivating gratitude for all those involved in getting the food onto your plate. 

I also love the mindfulness practice of engaging all of your senses. Before eating, consider the different colors and textures you see, and breathe in the aroma of your food. Once you start eating, turn your attention to how each bite tastes and feels. 

Breathwork Practices

Breathwork is one of the most foolproof ways to activate the parasympathetic nervous system and prepare your body for digestion. And when you find a technique you like, it’s often one of the simplest habits to build into your routine. 

Diaphragmatic breathing (or belly breathing) is a great place to start. With one hand on your belly and one on your chest, inhale slowly through the nose while letting your belly expand. Exhale slowly through the nose, feeling the belly move inwards.  Try not to move the chest, but focus your breath on the belly. Even 3 rounds of this is great, and you can work your way up to 8-10. 

Another simple and effective technique is box breathing. Breathe in through your nose for a count of 4, hold at the top for 4, breathe out through your mouth for 4, and then hold at the bottom for 4. A few rounds of box breathing can really help to relax the body and clear the mind. 

Other Stress Management Strategies For Gut Health

Beyond mealtimes, an essential component of a holistic lifestyle and any gut healing protocol is having a regular stress management or mindfulness practice. Even when we’re not actively digesting food, these practices can help to reduce inflammation and support the gut. These may include yoga, nature walks, meditation, different types of therapy, or somatic practices. Healthy whole foods, exercise, and sleep are also all important components of alleviating the effects of chronic stress on the body. 

Better Digestion Begins With Awareness 

Nobody can eliminate absolutely all stress (nor should we be trying to!). But just understanding and being aware of the impacts of stress, and then gradually implementing simple practices to manage it, can provide significant improvements in digestion. 

As one of the first functional medicine telehealth clinics in the world, we provide webcam health consultations for people around the globe. 

Photo: Unsplash.com

Sources

• Rohleder, N. (2019). Stress and inflammation–The need to address the gap in the transition between acute and chronic stress effects. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 105, 164-171.
• Beurel, E. (2024). Stress in the microbiome-immune crosstalk. Gut microbes, 16(1), 2327409.
• Madison, A. A., & Bailey, M. T. (2024). Stressed to the core: inflammation and intestinal permeability link stress-related gut microbiota shifts to mental health outcomes. Biological psychiatry, 95(4), 339-347.