Abdominal Massage and simple “movement” are just a few of the easy things we can do to get a regular morning bowel movement. A morning poo is a game-changer for mood, concentration and wellbeing.
There are so many simple, natural things we can do to improve our bowel health. Many date back to a time when no one knew “why” things worked, they just did, and only lately do we find out the science behind them.
My maternal grandparents had 9 children and 26 granchildren. They loved weekend visitors. They needed coping mechanisms. I have a childhood memory of my grandfather always escaping after breakfast for his “constitutional”.
Bald, somewhat grumpy, Grandad, 6′ 5″, suited and shiny shoed (even in retirement), off to the corner shop to fetch the paper. With Bolshi, the skinny, scrappy, smelly, ancient Yorkshire Terrier trotting off beside him. On return, Grandad would disappear into the downstairs loo, with the paper under his arm, emerging only a good 20 minutes later in a remarkably improved mood.
Child-me assumed he just wanted to escape the family for an hour. Have a nice read somewhere private. On reflection, with maturity, and the science research, we know that the breakfast, the walk and the sit-and-read-bit were all excellent for triggering his successful morning bowel movement. And consequently better humour.
The importance of peristalsis
The bowel sits dormant overnight ( you might need a wee in the night but it would be unusual to need a bowel movement). As we get up gravity helps intestinal movement through the small intestine. But when waste meets the tricky corner of our appendix (bottom right) there is a literal uphill journey ahead.
The large colon has smooth muscle bands which need to “squeeze” the waste upward, across under the ribcage and then downward towards the rectum (bottom left) in a peristaltic action (think anaconda snake eating a small animal).
When we are young we have waves of gut movement every 20 minutes. Babies poo a lot! As we mature the peristalsis intervals extend out, ideally giving us a once or twice daily bowel action. However, even by late teens, many people’s gut peristalis has gone the other way and is too slow or infrequent, giving them only an irregular empty, or discomfort, bloating, gas and irritability problems.
Help nature (and bowels) along
If you are stuck in a constipation rut or prone to wind, bloating or discomfort, add some gut motility tricks into your morning routine. There’s no particular order – it’s combining them to work best for you and your lifestyle:
# Movement
Cardio exercise accelerates your breathing and ramps up your heart rate. As you get your blood flowing, the intestinal muscles are stimulated and begin to contract to help move bowel contents through the system.
Some people find just moving about the house, putting on a wash, making beds is enough, but a simple pacy walk (that “constitutional”) might be needed. If you can include walking as part of your commute you might need to make a toilet stop your first activity at work. If you WFH be aware that you might have lost your natural movement “trigger” without your usual commute. Try to build it back in.
Note: If running is your jam you might already know this triggers a bowel movement for you – some runners need to be sure to plan a toilet stop into their route. Be aware of “runners diarrhoea” where the stimulated gut action can lead to too effective results, in which case you need to be sure to have emptied the bowel before you go for your run.
# Gastro-colic reflex
Though there is a trend for overnight fasting and later breakfasts, this may not suit your gut. The sight, smell or taste of food is a natural trigger to wake the bowel up. They used to serve hot water with lemon on surgical wards to help prevent constipation. Dentists don’t like the lemon bit anymore but the hot water is an essential start of my day. Even a small breakfast can be helpful.
Note: Some controversey here. After eating, blood flow increases to your stomach and intestines to help your body digest the food. Some argue that if you exercise right after eating, blood flows away from your stomach and to your heart and muscles instead. Since the strength of your gut’s muscle contractions depends on how much blood it has, less blood in the GI tract means weaker contractions and the food will move sluggishly through your intestines. However, in contrast, the “blood sugar management” gurus recommend movement and exercise after eating to stabilise the blood sugars. Ultimately, as always, being entirely pragmatic here – do your guts prefer your National Trust cream tea before or after you do the estate walk?? Who needs an excuse to do the ground level research?!
# I Love U abdominal massage
Physiotherapists teach abdominal massage to target the large intestine (colon). The name is for the three shapes that you make with the technique “I” “L” & “U”. There is a good body of research showing how effective it is for children, people with neurological problems (like MS or Parkinsons) and for general gut health.
Use abdominal massage regularly (even before you get up in the morning) to help relax and clear the colon if you are suffering with constipation, diarrhoea or irritable bowel syndrome and even when you have no symptoms at all to help the colon function optimally.
| Video: A demonstration of I Love You Abdominal Massage. |
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If you want to learn more about bowel health you would enjoy reading next:
A regular bowel movement: changes your life MORE than pelvic floor exercises
Ten (yes 10!) Ps for Perfect Poos
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Amanda x
