This is a very good question and the answer lies within your nervous system. "My nervous system?" we hear you ask "how is my nervous system responsible for giving me heartburn?"
More specifically, the answer lies within your autonomic nervous system, the evolutionary "fight or flight" and "rest and digest" responses that kick in when we sense danger and cool off once that danger has passed.
From an evolutionary point of view, our fight or flight response kept our ancestors essentially from death - think rampaging woolly mammoth! Now when we sense "danger" it is more likely to be a looming deadline, an unexpected bill, a family crisis.
However, the signs that our body is preparing to fight or flight are the same as our ancestors felt as the mammoth approached - our breath quickens, our heart rate increases, our mouths are dry, we feel a bit sick. This is your body preparing you to either fight the danger or run!
While the heart and lungs are receiving all of our energy and blood supply, other body systems such as the digestive system and the reproductive system are temporarily "suspended". Once the danger has passed however, the body calms and it's back to "resting and digesting".
While the nervous system does a fabulous job at keeping us safe and ensuring that we have enough energy to deal with danger, the problems arise when the "fight or flight" response doesn't switch off. This happens when we are in a state of chronic stress.
And this explains why stress causes acid reflux - while the body continually tries to support us as we flee the perceived danger it has no interest in digesting anything we are eating and so the cycle of poor digestion - bloating, indigestion and reflux - begins.
Managing stress is the key to managing acid reflux and some other common digestive problems such as IBS. While it is difficult and not always possible to eliminate all of the stressors from our lives, there are some simple techniques that will help you make a start at meal times and allow your body a little more time to "rest and digest".
But why do those things? Your body needs to go through the "cephalic phase", the preparation stage prior to eating. The cephalic phase encourages the production of saliva and hydrochloric acid, both of which are needed to start the digestive process, and alerts the body to expect incoming food, sending signals that digestion is about to commence.
When you are stressed, your body is focussed on survival, not on getting itself ready for lunch and so here are some of our top tips to help you to reduce the impact that stress has on your digestion.
take lunch away from your desk
put your laptop away and switch off your phone while eating
take a few deep breaths before you start eating
always eat at the table
take time to chew properly
put cutlery down between mouthfuls
None of these strategies are difficult but each one requires you to intentionally focus on eating and not the million other distractions that are going on around you. That can be tough to do but we guarantee that by doing those simple things every time you eat, you are making it more likely that your body will be resting and digesting and that you can enjoy your meal without worrying about it biting back.
We are accredited reflux practitioners, trained to support those who are struggling with their symptoms and in the use of PPI medication. If you would like to find out more about how we can help you, please get in touch.
Comentarios