It takes approximately two hours for solid food to be broken down by the stomach and enter the small intestines, so if you experience nausea after workouts, it might be best to wait at least two hours after a meal. If you exercise immediately or up to an hour after eating, you’re more likely to experience nausea – regardless of exercise level or workout intensity. In extreme circumstances this can result in bleeding of the stomach lining, particularly in endurance and long distance athletes. Some evidence even suggests that exercise, particularly long distance running and other endurance events, can damage the stomach lining – likely due to the decrease in blood flow and oxygen available to the organ.
This can result in significant nausea and even vomiting – even on an empty stomach.Įndurance sports may actually be bad for the stomach. Other muscles – such as those in the abdominal wall – also help, further squeezing the abdominal organs with every breath. This then causes the diaphragm (under your ribs) to push down harder on the abdominal organs. This is particularly an issue in squatting, as the heart rate and oxygen demand in tissues increases, so the body draws larger volumes of air into the lungs.
On top of this, the stomach and other abdominal organs can also be compressed during exercise, which may further contribute to feelings of nausea. When blood flow is reduced in this area, it triggers our intestinal nerves, which subsequently causes feelings of nausea. So, when we work out, blood needs to go to the muscles, heart, lungs and brain, meaning blood flow is reduced in less active tissues, such as the gastrointestinal tract – even if it’s currently digesting our dinner. The body has to adapt the blood flow to the tissues as demand changes. The significant conflict in the body from different tissues all demanding oxygen may be one reason why nausea happens during or after a workout. A different part of the autonomic nervous system causes blood flow to increase to the gastrointestinal structures when they need to be active. The stomach muscles also become more active during digestion, causing greater demand for oxygen and blood flow to the stomach and other gastrointestinal tissues. When we eat, the food stretches our stomach, resulting in the release of acid and enzymes needed to digest the food. This can be the case whether or not you’ve recently eaten.īut let’s say you’ve recently eaten a meal before heading to the gym or going for a run. This means that blood supply may be reduced in areas that don’t currently need as much oxygen at that time. It does this because there’s a limited quantity of blood in the body, and the increased oxygen demand by some tissues can only be met by altering the amount of blood going to other tissues. It does this by widening the arteries so they can carry more blood to these tissues.īut the sympathetic nervous system, which normally drives our “ fight or flight” mechanism, simultaneously narrows the blood vessels going into our gastrointestinal system (such as our stomach) during a strenuous workout by up to 80%. This increase in blood flow is driven by the sympathetic part of the autonomic nervous system (which helps regulates all of our involuntary body responses, such as heart rate, blood pressure and digestion). When we exercise, there’s an increase in blood flow to the working muscles, brain, lungs and heart. Fortunately there are a few good explanations for why this may be happening – so if this happens to you there’s probably no reason to be alarmed. Though this is usually only temporary, it can still be uncomfortable. While some of us get “runners’ highs” after a workout, unfortunately some of us leave the gym feeling nauseous.
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