INQUIRY QUESTION: How does stress negatively affect the digestive system?
This topic is vastly applicable across all bodily systems as stress has the power to negatively influence the entirety of the body. Individually, I hope to pinpoint the exact reasons for digestive issues on my behalf, helping to ease stress in the name of enabling intestinal motility and good digestive health. Locally, I would like to promote these findings whenever appropriate in conversation with others, helping them to foster a thorough understanding of what it means to struggle with digestive issues, and why that may be the case for them. On a global scale, a fully functioning digestive system is something that everyone deserves, it starts with groundbreaking research to reveal necessary answers.
Potential Round 1 of Research: Does the inflammation caused by the stress response have this effect on the organs within the digestive system? Is this where we see the negative effects?
Inflammation is known to be one of the detrimental effects of chronic stress. This starts to become a problem when the stress boils over and starts to affect an important bodily system responsible for processing fuel, when sub-optimal, it is bound to have negative effects on brain health. This question focusses on whether the inflammatory aspect of stress serves as the culprit for the digestive issues brought on by this physiological detriment.
Potential Round 2 of Research: What kinds of chronic digestive issues stem from stressful life events?
This is a question that many experiencing digestive problems seek to find the answers to. Is their specific digestive-related issue tied to physiological stress? While stress may only serve as one potential risk factor for a given issue, we must consider that it is one of the pillars that affects a large amount of bodily health as a whole. I am determined to answer whether IBS, indigestion, heartburn, and constipation have somewhat of a link to the long list of everyday stressors that society deals with.
Potential Round 3 of Research: Are these negative effects exemplified with age? At what age are we most resilient to the negative outcomes of stress?
It is common sense to deduce the conclusion that humans become less resilient as they age. However, old habits die hard and when issues are left untreated, they compound over time. To my knowledge, stress must be one of the issues that worsen as aging dawns on us, and with age making us inevitably less resilient, this turns into major health issues down the road. Additionally, there must be a peak age of resilience, one where stressors hardly affect our day-to-day life. This finding is applicable to many other scientific theses, one I am determined to parse through research to find, decode, and foster future inquiry questions that will improve life in many ways.
5 Potential Resources
- (Lee et al., 2015) Lee, S. P., Sung, I. K., Kim, J. H., Lee, S. Y., Park, H. S., & Shim, C. S. (2015). The effect of emotional stress and depression on the prevalence of digestive diseases. Journal of neurogastroenterology and motility, 21(2), 273–282. https://doi.org/10.5056/jnm14116
- (Cherpak, 2019) Cherpak C. E. (2019). Mindful Eating: A Review Of How The Stress-Digestion-Mindfulness Triad May Modulate And Improve Gastrointestinal And Digestive Function. Integrative medicine (Encinitas, Calif.), 18(4), 48–53.
- (Oroian, 2021) Oroian, Bianca Augusta, et al. ‘New Metabolic, Digestive, and Oxidative Stress‐Related Manifestations Associated with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder’. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, edited by Juan F. Santibanez, vol. 2021, no. 1, Jan. 2021, p. 5599265. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/5599265.
- (Bhatia & Tandon, 2005) BHATIA, V. and TANDON, R.K. (2005), Stress and the gastrointestinal tract. Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 20: 332-339. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-1746.2004.03508.x
PEER REVIEWED
- (Morse et al., 1989) Morse, D. R., et al. ‘Oral Digestion of a Complex-Carbohydrate Cereal: Effects of Stress and Relaxation on Physiological and Salivary Measures’. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 49, no. 1, Jan. 1989, pp. 97–105. ScienceDirect, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/49.1.97.
