Passing bowel movements engages certain muscles in the colon and rectum. Once the body releases poop, these muscles relax, causing excitation of the vagus nerve. One 2020 article notes that this excitation can cause reductions in heart rate and blood pressure.
“That squeezing of the abdominal muscles causes your vagus nerve to be contracted.” This essential nerve helps control relaxation, so the squeezing of it can actually decrease your heart rate, causing your blood pressure to drop.
Anish Sheth calls the pleasurable sensation you describe “poo-phoria.” Poo-phoria occurs when your bowel movement stimulates the vagus nerve, which descends from the brainstem to the colon. The vagus nerve plays a role in several bodily functions including digestion, and regulating heart rate and blood pressure.
Foods high in fiber include beans, nuts, vegetables and fruits. Poops that are well-formed and easy to pass (Types 3 and 4) are the ideal kinds of poop. Poops that are entirely liquid or have too much liquid (Types 5, 6 and 7) indicate diarrhea or urgency.
Many people report experiencing more yellow stools as a symptom of anxiety. Anxiety does not specifically affect the color of stool, but it can affect how food moves through the digestive tract. There are several ways that anxiety affects digestion, increasing the risk of yellow feces.
The vagus nerve essentially creates a two-way street of communication from the brain to the gut. When it's stimulated, as it is during a poop, the vagus nerve can lower a person's blood pressure and heart rate, which leaves us feeling relaxed and with a sense of “poo-phoria”.
The vegus nerve is part of that rest-and-digest system, and runs all the way from the brain stem to the rectum. "When that is stimulated, it can cause sweats, it can cause chills, it can drop your blood pressure and your heart rate as well," he says.
Healthy Poop Should Sink in the Toilet
Floating stools are often an indication of high fat content, which can be a sign of malabsorption, a condition in which you can't absorb enough fat and other nutrients from the food you're ingesting, reports Mount Sinai.
Most professionals recommend spending no more time on the toilet than it takes to pass a stool. Studies have shown that the average bowel movement takes 12 seconds. Sometimes it does take longer, however, so at maximum, you should not spend more than 10 minutes on the toilet.
It can compress the nerves, which hinders blood flow to them. Those nerves run all the way down to your feet, so that poor blood flow can lead to tingling in your lower extremities. Sitting on the toilet in this position for 10 to 15 minutes is enough to start making many guys feel pins and needles.
You have to tighten the voluntary sphincters,” says Sonpal. “In the first few hours, you'll feel a sense of abdominal pressure. Some people describe it as abdominal cramping, whereas some people have more urgency.” In other words, holding it is a fast track to that gassy, bloated feeling you can't seem to shake.
There are many common and treatable reasons for burning or pain while pooping, including constipation, diarrhea, hemorrhoids, and anal tears. If the pain is persistent or is occurring along with other symptoms, especially bleeding, see a healthcare provider to get a diagnosis and treatment.
For some people removing all of your clothing before pooping may seem strange but for many others, it is completely natural and normal. First of all, you are not alone. There are other people who prefer to have a bowel movement in the nude.
Signs Your Colon is Clear
The morning of your exam if you are still passing brown liquid with solid material mixed in, your colon may not be ready and you should contact your doctor's office. Passing mostly clear or only a light color, including yellow, is a sign your colon is clean enough for an accurate examination.
Common causes include: Chronic diarrhea Constipation Hemorrhoids Crohn's disease The skin of the anus can stick to the stool and make it difficult to clean the anorectal area after a bowel movement. Leaky gut Leaky gut is also known as fecal incontinence.
The average person's colon can often hold 8 to 25 lbs of accumulated fecal matter.
There is no “normal” number of bowel movements. Many healthcare providers agree that healthy bowel movement frequency can range from three times a day to three times a week.
If your poop doesn't smell
When your digestion is poor and food is left in the colon for a while, bacteria starts to get at it and fermentation begins (as we noted earlier). As for the diet, more veggies will make your poop stink less; more meat will make it worse.
If you're having bowel movements more often, chances are you've made some change in your lifestyle. For example, you may be eating more whole grains, which increases fiber intake. More-frequent bowel movements also could be related to a mild illness that will take care of itself.
When you do pass stool however, the relaxation of the stronger anal sphincter also decreases tension in the weaker urinary sphincter, allowing urine to pass at the same time.
Stool is made up of a combination of dead cells, undigested food, mucus, and bacteria, some of which give off sulfurous compounds that often carry an odor.
If your thyroid gland is producing the wrong amount of thyroid hormone, it may cause your bowels to become sluggish and you may get palpitations. There are many causes for constipation, including irritable bowel syndrome, dehydration, or lack of exercise.