MEA x Woodlot Part One: Rest + Digest
/Let me tell you something I discuss with every single one of my clients: the importance of “rest and digest”. As a nutritionist, I work with clients in need of tools to improve their digestive health. Whether they are dealing with uncomfortable bloating or a chronic disorder like irritable bowel syndrome, we always start at the same place: the mind-body connection. It is important to understand that our digestive system and nervous system are deeply intertwined.
Biology 101
The autonomic nervous system, which controls unconscious body functions, like breathing and digestion, as well as every organ in our bodies except for skeletal muscles.
The autonomic nervous system has two main divisions:
The Sympathetic Nervous System – also known as “fight or flight” response
The Parasympathetic Nervous System – also known as “rest and digest” response.
Our sympathetic nervous system kicks in whenever we‘re experiencing any kind of real or perceived threat. If fear, real or imagined shows up in your thoughts or environment (being chased by a bear, running late for a big meeting, or even judging ourselves in the mirror) we activate our “fight or flight” response and shift into a stress mode.
When this happens our sympathetic nervous system moves our energy and blood flow to our extremities so that we can fight or flee, escape the situation, or freeze in the presence of our stressor. When our body shuttles our energy and blood to our arms and legs, however, it also moves it away from our internal organs, including our digestive tract. Digestion is hardly essential when we are fighting for our lives, so, if we find ourselves in a full-tilt stress response (bear!) our digestion completely shuts down. Yet even in a moderate or chronic stress response (hello, negative self-talk), our digestive system is still impacted negatively. When we’re living in a state of worry or anxiety, our ability to digest, assimilate, and metabolize our food is hugely reduced.
Photo by Sarah Konyer
How does stress impact digestion?
The thing is that our stress response holds great influence over our digestion and metabolism. We can have the most wonderfully healthy food on our plate, but if our sympathetic nervous system is activated, then we’re existing in fight or flight mode and our bodies can’t fully assimilate the nutrition that we’re ingesting.
Stress can:
affect gut motility (fancy code for diarrhea or constipation)
aggravate acid reflux
disrupt the natural balance of healthy bacteria in the gut (which is not a good thing for your immune system!)
initiate a relapse in ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease and spasms in IBS.
How can we fix it?
The good news is that we have a whole other system that counteracts our fight or flight response – the parasympathetic nervous system – what some refer to as the “rest and digest” response. Turning on this system neutralizes the body after stress – the heart rate drops, the pupils constrict, and the muscles relax. In rest and digest mode the body begins to repair itself, energy becomes conserved, and even your digestion improves. You can activate rest and digest mode by engaging in activities that soothe you, like lighting a candle, taking deep breaths, or going for a calming walk before a meal.
Because sympathetic and parasympathetic modes oppose one another, resting, digesting and healing can’t take place when survival hormones are running. The biochemicals of rest and digest are critical for survival too, but long term survival. Nature cannot give you a spurt of relaxation like it can give you a spurt of urgency. Adrenaline always trumps the chemistry of serenity because we are programmed to produce it faster than we can think, for survival. If stress mode has been your default way of being, you may have to make a conscious effort to slow down and heal with the help of your rest and digest rituals. I see it in my private practice time and time again, my clients are so accustomed to being on the go they don’t realize they could often ditch the antacids and bloat by stopping, slowing down, and relaxing before meals.
Photo by Sarah Konyer
Take away message: Eat with intention.
If you think about it, how many times have you eaten in a rushed state, on the go, in a car, or at your desk? When we eat in a rushed or frantic state, the body goes into "fight/flight" mode, which shuts down digestion. So sit, breath, light a candle, spritz the room, diffuse your favourite scent (my personal fave is Recharge before meals), feel gratitude for your meal, and enjoy it calmly while sitting down. Bonus points if you ditch your phone and play your favourite song instead.
This post was in collaboration with the team at Woodlot.
Photography and styling: Sarah Konyer
Linens: Flax Sleep
Ceramics: Janaki Larsen
Mugs: Clay by Chlo
Article written by: Jennifer Brott
References
Browning, K, Travagli, A. Central Nervous System Control of Gastrointestinal Motility and Secretion and Modulation of Gastrointestinal Functions. 2016 [Pubmed]
Dosset, M. Brain-gut connection explains why integrative treatments can help relieve digestive ailments. 2019 [Harvard]
Kamiya, A. The Brain-Gut Connection. 2020 [Hopkins]
National Institutes of Health. Stress System Malfunction Could Lead to Serious, Life Threatening Disease. 2002 [NICHD]
Sowndhararajan, K, Kim, S. Influence of Fragrances on Human Psychophysiological Activity: With Special Reference to Human Electroencephalographic Response. 2016. [Pubmed]