A growing body of research also links exercise with positive shifts in the gut microbiome, Dr. Simoes says. A 2023 analysis of studies on the topic found that doing aerobic training in 30- to 90-minute sessions three to five times a week sparks the greatest increase in bacterial diversity (a marker of a happy gut), as opposed to doing either less or more. As for why? It’s not yet totally clear, but it seems that a certain amount of cardio can change the chemicals released as part of your metabolism, bolstering the growth of good bacteria.
Aiming for a few half-hour cardio sessions a week is fantastic, but if that’s feeling ambitious, easing into a physical activity that gets your heart rate up for 15 minutes just a couple times a week can make a difference, Dr. Grant says. Even better if you can find something you look forward to, whether that’s riding your bike, dancing, kickboxing, or something else entirely.
You might notice that moving your body regularly also makes you feel less stressed, Louwagie adds, which could have trickle-down benefits for your gut, too (more on that below).
6. Try your best to reduce the stress in your life
If you’ve been blessed (read: cursed) enough to deal with stress-related diarrhoea or constipation, you already know the gut can respond poorly to any sort of mental upset. The reason why has to do with the gut-brain axis: Feedback flows constantly between your GI tract and your brain, Dr. Kassim says, which is how you perceive hunger and fullness – but stress triggers a little chaos in that loop.
“You can think of the nerves that innervate the gut becoming live wires [under stress],” Dr. Rossi says. So, normal intestinal movements, which you might not typically notice, can translate as abdominal pain or upset. Stress can also trigger spasms of different parts of your intestines, either moving poop through them too quickly or too slowly, all of which can cause discomfort.
Longer-term, harbouring stress might even alter your trusty microbiome – potentially increasing the ratio of bad-to-good bacteria – and weaken the lining of your gut, letting harmful bugs more easily seep into your blood.
That’s all to say, you’ll be doing your gut a favour – both now and in the future – by making an intentional effort to reduce your stress level. That’s obviously easier said than done, but incorporating even a few minutes of meditation into each day, practising deep-breathing or grounding techniques in moments of anxiety, and trying out an exercise like yoga that focuses on connecting your breath to your movement can help, Dr Grant says.
An important note: It’s also possible for an off-kilter gut to influence your mood – after all, the connection between your brain and digestive tract is bidirectional. Specifically, having a GI condition like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) that causes irritation and pain can make you more likely to develop a mental health condition; and emerging research suggests that an imbalance in certain gut bacteria may also be part of what initially causes depression. So, if you’re dealing with both mental and gastro symptoms, it’s worth seeking out a therapist in addition to a GI doctor so you can tackle both pieces of the puzzle in tandem.
7. Actually get to bed
Much like being stressed, not getting enough sleep can throw your gut into a tizzy. “Research shows that as little as two nights of disturbed sleep can actually change the profile of your microbiome in a negative way,” Dr. Rossi says. Indeed, a 2023 analysis of several studies looking at the effect of different kinds of sleep loss on the gut found a consistent drop in beneficial Bacteroidetes bacteria and a subsequent rise in their less-friendly counterpart Firmicutes. Not to mention, people with a GI condition like IBS or inflammatory bowel disease (like Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis) tend to experience worse symptoms in the wake of poor sleep, Dr. Kassim says.
Though scientists are still untangling why sleep loss can have these downstream consequences for your gut, it likely has to do with your body’s stress response to being fatigued. Lack of sleep can skew the balance of your nervous system, over-activating your sympathetic (AKA “fight-or-flight”) system and increasing your cortisol levels — all of which can trigger “an inflammatory cascade” that may be detrimental to your gut, Dr. Grant says.
On the flip side, a few studies have shown that markers of good sleep, like high self-reported sleep quality and high efficiency (spending most of your time in bed actually snoozing), are linked with a broader mix of gut microbes. All the more reason to prioritise quality shuteye, both by setting aside a good seven to nine hours for it and brushing up on your sleep hygiene (for instance, ditching screens an hour before bed and following a soothing nighttime routine). As with most of the items on this list, it’s a habit your gut bugs are as likely to appreciate as the rest of your body.
This article was first published on SELF.