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Pandemic Nausea Is Real
Stress is causing gastrointestinal issues for some, thanks to the gut-brain connection
Since the pandemic began, it’s become clear that Covid-19 can disrupt nearly every part of the body — even among people without the virus. Sleep schedules are off, people are having bizarre dreams, bodies are aching in places they didn’t ache before. Gastrointestinal experts say stomachs are out of sorts, too.
“In my own clinic, I have seen increasing numbers of individuals reporting high stress and worsening of gastrointestinal symptoms since the start of the pandemic,” says Ziad Gellad, MD, MPH, an associate professor of medicine at Duke University’s Division of Gastroenterology. While there’s yet to be hard data to firmly substantiate a rise in tummy aches and nausea during the pandemic, experts say gut-related health problems during this time are to be expected.
Psychological stress frequently manifests in gastrointestinal symptoms, says Gellad. The human gut — a group of organs involved in the body’s digestive process — takes a hit when people get stressed. Similar to the brain, the gut has its own sophisticated network of interconnected neurons, which is why it’s often called the body’s “second brain.” The gut and the brain are linked through what’s called the vagus nerve — a two-way communication pathway between the central and enteric nervous systems — and this connection is often referred to as the “gut-brain connection.” This is what makes it possible for psychological distress to cause gastrointestinal dysfunction.
Neha Nigam, MD, a gastroenterologist at Northwestern Medicine, describes the gut-brain connection as “a complex interplay between cognitive and digestive behavior.” Anyone who’s ever followed their gut instinct or felt butterflies in their stomach right before a presentation has personally experienced how the brain influences the gut. Pandemic stress can cause similar feelings and lingering symptoms.
