Not only does constipation cause infrequent bowel movements, but they can also be hard and difficult to pass. This excessive straining and time on the toilet is not healthy and can lead to numerous issues, such as rectal bleeding (Cirino, 2019).

Causes of Constipation
The causes of constipation vary greatly. As an acute condition, it could be caused by something as simple as dehydration or eating foods with too little fibre. In more serious chronic cases, constipation can be the result of stress, hormonal changes, spinal injuries, muscle problems, cancers, or other structural problems affecting the digestive tract.

The main job of your colon is to absorb water from food as it’s passing through the digestive system, creating stool (or waste). The muscles of the colon eventually propel the waste out through the rectum to be eliminated, but if the stool remains in the colon too long, it can become hard and difficult to pass (Moores, 2019).

High Fibre Diet

One of the most common pieces of advice for people suffering from constipation is to eat more fibre. Dietary fibre is the name given to the non-digestible carbohydrates in plants. It can be found in all plant foods, including fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, and seeds. It is generally recommended that men eat 38 grams of fiber per day, and that women eat 25 grams (DeSalvo, 2016).

Even though your body can’t actually digest fibre, eating enough of it is important for maintaining gut health. Dietary fibre increases the size of your stools, and makes them softer! These types of stools are much healthier, as they move through your bowels more quickly and are easier to pass.

Soluble Fibre

Soluble fibre is found in oat bran, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils and peas, as well as some fruits and vegetables. Soluble fibre absorbs water and forms a gel-like substance, which helps the stool pass smoothly through the bowels and improves its form and consistency.

Insoluble Fibre

Insoluble fibre is found in oat bran, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils and peas, as well some fruits and vegetables. This fibre bulks up your stool and acts like a brush, sweeping the bowels to move everything out.

In general, eating enough fibre can help keep you regular. It can also improve the balance of good bacteria in your gut. This may reduce your risk of various diseases, such as heart disease, obesity and diabetes (West, 2021).

Drink More Water

Dehydration is one of the leading causes of constipation. In order for food waste to move through your digestive system, you need to have plenty of water. Without it, stool can become hard, lumpy, and difficult to pass.

Drinking certain juices may also relieve constipation in some people. Many juices made from fruits and vegetables contain dietary fiber and sorbitol, both of which help regulate bowel movements. Juices also contain large quantities of water, which may help soften hard stool while keeping the body hydrated (NIDDK, 2018).

Drink Coffee
While coffee may have a laxative effect in some people, whether it’s the coffee or the caffeine is unclear. Coffee’s effect is not solely due to caffeine, since decaffeinated coffee has shown the same or an even greater effect. In addition, most people don’t have to poop after drinking other caffeinated beverages, such as soda or energy drinks. Either way, including coffee as part of your routine can certainly help stimulate a bowel movement (McDermott, 2017).

Exercise Regularly

Regular and consistent exercise helps relieve constipation by lowering the amount of time it takes for food to move through the large intestine, which limits the amount of water your body gets a chance to absorb from the stool. Another possible mechanism for the positive effect on constipation is an increase in blood flow throughout the digestive system as a result of exercising (Tantawy, 2017).

Constipation: Ask Your Doctor About Trying a Laxative

Laxatives can help relieve and prevent constipation, but not all laxatives are safe for long-term use. Overuse of certain laxatives can lead to dependency and decreased bowel function, so be sure to have a conversation with your doctor before beginning the use of any laxative (Wald, 2017).

Oral Stimulants

Stimulants trigger rhythmic contractions of the intestinal muscles to expel stool from the body. Examples are Dulcolax and Senokot, and side effects may include belching, cramping, diarrhea, nausea, and urine discolouration.

Rectal Suppositories

Suppositories are a very direct way of triggering rhythmic contractions of intestinal muscles and softening stool. Dulcolax and Pedia-Lax are two popular brands. Side effects may include rectal irritation, diarrhea, and cramping.

Invest in a Pooping Stool

Getting into a squat position while pooping can be highly advantageous when trying to poop. Bring a small footstool into your bathroom the next time you need to poop. Placing your feet on a stool in front of the toilet while you poop — so your body is essentially in a squatting position instead of in a seated position —can help you pass stool without straining (Cirino, 2019).

Avoid Alcohol

Alcohol works to reduce the secretion of antidiuretic hormone, which is a signal to the body to hold on to more water. When someone has less of this hormone, they tend to urinate more. Thus, dehydration from alcohol consumption can contribute to constipation because the body needs water for stool to absorb and stay mobile. Drinking alcohol can have an inhibitory effect on peristalsis, meaning that It can slow down gastrointestinal motility (Nall, 2019).

Lifestyle Changes that Can Help You Poop More Regularly

Don’t try to make all these changes at once, but here is a list of suggestions to add to your daily routine. These small tweaks can help improve constipation (Cafasso, 2018).

• Eat meals around the same time each day.
• Drink a big glass of water right after you wake up.
• Try adding bran cereal to your breakfast some mornings.
• Do a little light exercise (as simple as walking) after breakfast.
• Play with a new recipe using high-fibre foods like beans and legumes.
• Pack a piece of fruit to bring to work as a snack.
• Substitute whole wheat bread for your white bread.
• Get plenty of sleep.
• If you have the urge to poop, do not resist or ‘hold’ it.
• Try to schedule a little time at regular intervals for a bowel movement.

When to See a Doctor

If your constipation is ever accompanied by symptoms such as severe or constant abdominal pain, vomiting, blood in the stool, or significant bloating, you should seek medical help. Additionally, if constipation lingers for more than three weeks, it’s time to speak to your doctor about treatment options (Cedars-Sinai, 2020).

The gut-brain connection is no joke; it can link anxiety to stomach problems and vice versa. Have you ever had a “gut-wrenching” experience? Do certain situations make you “feel nauseous”? Have you ever felt “butterflies” in your stomach? We use these expressions for a reason. The gastrointestinal tract is sensitive to emotion. Anger, anxiety, sadness, elation — all of these feelings (and others) can trigger symptoms in the gut.

The brain has a direct effect on the stomach and intestines. For example, the very thought of eating can release the stomach’s juices before food gets there. This connection goes both ways. A troubled intestine can send signals to the brain, just as a troubled brain can send signals to the gut. Therefore, a person’s stomach or intestinal distress can be the cause or the product of anxiety, stress, or depression. That’s because the brain and the gastrointestinal (GI) system are intimately connected.

This is especially true in cases where a person experiences gastrointestinal upset with no obvious physical cause. For such functional GI disorders, it is difficult to try to heal a distressed gut without considering the role of stress and emotion.

Gut health and anxiety

Given how closely the gut and brain interact, it becomes easier to understand why you might feel nauseated before giving a presentation, or feel intestinal pain during times of stress. That doesn’t mean, however, that functional gastrointestinal conditions are imagined or “all in your head.” Psychology combines with physical factors to cause pain and other bowel symptoms. Psychosocial factors influence the actual physiology of the gut, as well as symptoms. In other words, stress (or depression or other psychological factors) can affect movement and contractions of the GI tract.

In addition, many people with functional GI disorders perceive pain more acutely than other people do because their brains are more responsive to pain signals from the GI tract. Stress can make the existing pain seem even worse.

Based on these observations, you might expect that at least some patients with functional GI conditions might improve with therapy to reduce stress or treat anxiety or depression. Multiple studies have found that psychologically based approaches lead to greater improvement in digestive symptoms compared with only conventional medical treatment.

Gut-brain connection, anxiety and digestion

Are your stomach or intestinal problems — such as heartburn, abdominal cramps, or loose stools — related to stress? Watch for these and other common symptoms of stress and discuss them with your doctor. Together you can come up with strategies to help you deal with the stressors in your life, and also ease your digestive discomforts.