People endure heartburn and stress on a regular basis. The more stressful things are, the more bouts of heartburn people go through. There is a reason for this link and knowing it will help against both heartburn and stress.
Stress is a normal reaction to danger that humans experience. These dangers cause the adrenal gland to produce a hormone called epinephrine. This hormone is responsible for sending more blood to the muscle than to other organs to initiate a "fight or flight" response when potential dangers are looming. One place where blood flow is decreased is in the digestive tract. In the short term, even in our modern times, a bit of stress, and a bit of adrenaline, is a good thing. We are sometimes at our best because of a little stress. But, prolonged stress, and constant overproduction of adrenaline, can cause havoc with our entire system, causing all sorts of problems, including heartburn.
During stressful times, our blood is concentrated in our muscles, and there is no enough circulation in the digestive tract. Because of this lack of blood food moves slower in the intestines which results in heartburn.
Another trigger of heartburn is increased production of stomach acid during stress, due to increased secretion of hormone cortisol by our adrenal gland during stressful events. The main causes of acid reflux and subsequent heartburn is too much acid being produced.
It is in our best interest to learn what it may take to at least focus out attention of other things so our stress won't be a contributing factor with heartburn issues. We can look for solutions to help us overcome stressful situations. One of them is light exercise, which promotes blood circulation in the whole body, helping us not only to distress but to digest our food better to prevent heartburn. More intense exercising should only be performed a few hours after eating a meal to prevent heartburn.
Another way to fight heartburn is by gum. By chewing gum you increase saliva production which will prevent the symptoms of heartburn as well as aid in digestive system food movement. Another simple remedy that helps both heartburn and stress is to eat smaller meals more often and avoid over-eating. Just as in the case with heartburn, eating a little bit of protein and carbohydrates is a stress-reliever as well. The worse thing to do, both for heartburn and stress, is to stoke up with caffeine, cigarettes and alcohol.
The interesting thing about heartburn and stress is that they feed off of each other. The fear of another heartburn attack can cause added stress, and the stress, caused by important task ahead can cause attack of heartburn. The good news is that they can be controlled by exercise, good eating habits, and avoiding things like cigarettes and alcohol. It is not easy, but being in control of how we feel is already one great de-stressor, and being able to prevent another attack of heartburn pain is surely worth it.
