Do You Poop When You’re Stressed? Experts Explain Why

Experiencing daily stress does more than make you feel overwhelmed—it can have a direct impact on your health. A surprising and often unexpected effect of stress is its impact on gut health. “Have you ever been so nervous and gotten ‘butterflies in your stomach’ or felt so stressed that you either have no appetite or can’t stop eating everything in sight? There’s a reason for this!” says Courtney Rayppy, RDN. These sensations result from the gut-brain axis, a bidirectional communication pathway between the brain and the gut. 

If you find yourself rushing to the bathroom whenever you feel stressed, you can blame it on your gut-brain axis. Discover how stress impacts your gut and learn practical tips for managing its effects.

The Link Between Stress and Your Gut

“Stress is known to affect gut motility through the gut-brain axis,” says David D. Clarke, M.D., who is board-certified in internal medicine and gastroenterology and is president of the Association for the Treatment of Neuroplastic Symptoms. In times of stress, the gut-brain axis is working behind the scenes, modifying how the digestive tract functions, with the vagus nerve serving as the primary connector between the gut and the brain. “The vagus nerve is the longest cranial nerve in the body, acting like a superhighway that carries messages between the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord) and the enteric nervous system (the gut’s own nervous system),” says Steven J. Feinstein, Ph.D., a clinical health psychologist and gut-brain specialist at Oshi Health. 

When stress overwhelms the body and brain, the gut is directly affected. “Too many psychological stressors can cause a lot of GI upset because stress hormones can slow down digestion, which may lead to gas, cramping, heartburn and can even be the cause of constipation and diarrhea,” says Rayppy.

In our modern lives, triggers of stress can take different forms than those our ancestors experienced, but the effects are similar. “When we get stressed out, whether it’s a lion chasing after you or an email from your boss, our body releases cortisol and adrenaline, which would be considered fight-or-flight hormones,” says Shariq Refai, M.D., M.B.A., a board-certified psychiatrist at ShrinkMD.com. These hormones affect the gut by shifting blood flow away from the digestive tract and to the muscles needed to flee the danger, which can greatly influence gut motility and function. As a result, this complicated cascade of hormones and bidirectional communication between the gut and the brain can have you running to the bathroom when you’re feeling anxious or stressed out.

Strategies to Stress Less

In addition to having a significant impact on digestive function, the gut-brain axis also plays a role in immune system function, as well as the production of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine. These essential functions make it important to support your gut microbiome with a variety of nutrient-dense foods, as well as care for your brain by implementing stress-relieving strategies to help manage day-to-day stressors. Follow these strategies to reduce your stress.

Get moving: Regular physical activity isn’t just beneficial for your muscles, bones and heart; it’s also essential for your brain health and managing stress. Movement is considered a “stress-buffering” behavior, meaning it can prevent stress from having adverse effects on health. 

With stress comes an increase in the stress hormone, cortisol. Studies have shown that increases in physical activity can lead to a reduction in cortisol levels. By reducing cortisol, you can mitigate the negative health effects that increase the risk of certain chronic diseases.

Try deep-breathing techniques: Your breath is deeply connected to your emotional state and is often one of the first noticeable changes in times of stress. When upset, anxious or generally overwhelmed, you may experience an increased rate of breathing, with short, sharp inhales and similar exhales. 

Purposeful, mindful breathing techniques can have a profound effect on stress and mood. While there are many techniques for modified breathing to reduce stress, a few have been studied in more depth and show promising results. Cyclic sighing or extended exhales, along with a method called box-breathing, have both been shown to have positive effects on the psychological state of study participants.

Try mindfulness practices or meditation: Both mindfulness and meditation can aid in stress management by helping to ground a person’s thoughts. Stress can often feel like rapid or racing thoughts, accompanied by a sense of feeling out of control. Counteracting this process with a moment of stillness or purposeful intention can improve the stress response. Rayppy recommends listening to calming music in a dimly lit environment, practicing yoga or engaging in a creative activity like coloring or baking.

Practice self-care: Self-care doesn’t have to be bubble baths and massages. Simple acts of self-care like going to bed earlier than usual, honoring your hunger, or spending a few minutes sitting quietly in nature are just a few examples of how self-care can fit into most any lifestyle and budget. It’s likely to look different for everyone, but the effect is the same—reduced stress. Consistently prioritizing your needs and recognizing when you need a break can help manage stress levels.

Seek therapy: When stress becomes difficult to manage, seeking the support of a professional therapist or counselor can be life-changing. Sometimes, every strategy to manage stress fails or proves ineffective. In these cases, it’s important to acknowledge your limits and seek help from a professional.

How to Keep Your Gut Healthy

“There is a lot of research happening related to the brain-gut connection,” says Refai. “We know that keeping a healthy gut can improve our mental health through diet and exercise. The opposite is also true.” Here are some actions you can take to help maintain a healthy gut.

Eat foods rich in prebiotics: While probiotics often take center stage when it comes to gut health, the benefits of their counterpart, prebiotics, should not be overlooked. “Prebiotics are nonliving compounds, like fiber, that act as a fuel source for the healthy gut bugs,” says Rayppy. She recommends foods like garlic, leeks, artichokes, apples, berries, beans, lentils, wheat bran and oats to up prebiotics in the diet.

Try fermented foods: “Probiotic foods are fermented with bacteria and include yogurt, kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha and lacto-fermented vegetables like pickles,” shares Rayppy. Probiotics in the diet help support a healthy gut microbiome, which is associated with a reduced risk of chronic disease.

Eat enough fiber: “Most Americans don’t consume nearly enough dietary fiber to help support a healthy gut,” says Rayppy. Fiber-rich foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds are lacking in the standard American diet. When consumed in recommended amounts, not only does the gut benefit, but our overall health also improves.  

Our Expert Take

Feeling stressed is an uncomfortable sensation on its own, so when you add gastrointestinal upset to the mix, things can become really challenging. Having a better understanding of why you may need to poop when you’re feeling stressed can help with symptom management. Take time to reduce stress by practicing self-care or mindfulness. It’s also important to support a healthy gut by eating enough fiber and by focusing on prebiotic- and probiotic-rich foods.