Chronic constipation has become a common problem in modern society. Today, many people are suffering from chronic constipation due to a sedentary lifestyle, poor diet, lack of exercise, and excessive stress. Making small lifestyle changes can support to your digestive system, helping things move along.
Here is a list of small lifestyle changes to make to ease the symptoms of chronic constipation:
Update your everyday routine
Among the major causes of constipation are poor diet and lack of exercise. Making small changes to your everyday routine can help relieve constipation. Simply begin by incorporating some movement into your daily life, including a few high-fiber foods.
You don’t have to make all big lifestyle changes at once, as you will find them very difficult to maintain in the long run. In the beginning, add a few of the following to your everyday schedule and try to maintain them:
- Plan your everyday meals and try to consume them around the same time every day.
- Drink a glass of lukewarm water right after you wake up in the morning.
- Eat bran cereal for breakfast every day.
- Add light exercises, such as walking after breakfast to your daily schedule.
- Park your car at a place far from your office every day and walk a bit in the morning and evening.
- Take a short 20-minute walk during lunch break.
- Try new recipes using high-fiber foods like beans and legumes.
- Carry one or more fruits to eat as an evening snack.
- Consume whole wheat bread and brown rice instead of white bread and rice.
- Get enough sleep every night. Get enough sleep every night. Make your bedroom comfortable with best firm mattress, quiet and not too warm or cold area to get more sleep during your constipation. If you’re planning to purchase a new mattress and not sure what particular brand to buy, you may check the review portal MyBestMattress.com for selection of great mattress brands.
- Don’t hold the urge to use the bathroom; use it right away.
- Wake up at the same time every day to schedule uninterrupted time for a bowel movement.
- Always carry a bottle of water handy at all times.
Take a fiber supplement
Fiber supplements are highly useful for those who experience chronic constipation. If you cannot increase your dietary fiber intake, try to add a fiber supplement to your diet. Fiber supplements bulk up your stool and are also known as bulk-forming agents.
Fiber supplements are easily available in the market. You can choose between a tablet and a capsule or, sometimes, gummies/chewable tablets at your convenience.
The following are some of the fiber supplements:
- Inulin (Fiber Choice)
- Polycarbophil (FiberCon)
- Methylcellulose (Citrucel)
- Wheat dextrin (Benefiber)
When you take any of these fiber supplements, make sure you drink enough water along with it.
Eat more dietary fiber
The best and simplest way to ease the symptoms of constipation is to increase the consumption of fiber-rich foods. Dietary fiber comprises various sources of complex carbohydrates. Green leafy vegetables, plant stems, and bran of whole grains are rich in dietary fiber.
Other good fiber sources are nuts, fruits, seeds, and raw vegetables. Simply start by adding more fiber to your everyday diet. The following is a list of foods that are high in dietary fiber:
- Fruits like apples, berries, bananas, oranges, raisins, pears, prunes, and figs
- Vegetables like broccoli, sweet potatoes, carrots, spinach, squash, peas, and avocado
- Whole wheat bread
- Shredded wheat
- Oatmeal
- Popcorn
- Bran flakes
- Flaxseed
- Beans and lentils
- Nuts
Note: Eating whole fruits is better than drinking fruit juices. Whole fruits have fiber, whereas fruit juices don’t.
Drink more water
Water is an essential for the body. Everyone needs to drink high volume of water and keeping the body relaxed. Our body is made up of 60% water. Due to it, water becomes essential for all parts and functioning. Mainly the chances of chronic constipation increase when the body starts consuming more water in digestion procedure.
As a result, the body requires more water for pushing the stool and proper bowel moment. In these cases, you may face issues during the bowel moment. The stool is becoming dry and hard. In other words, you can consider it as the bad effects of dehydrating body conditions.
You should try to consume more water by which your body starts functioning perfectly. It helps in sorting out several issues. Every time, all individuals do not face similar kind of reasons or conditions. In case water does not work on these conditions, then you should visit the experts and try to get complete details. They may suggest some other types of liquid that can easily work on the body and helps you in avoiding chronic constipation problems.
Eliminate stress
Stress leads to different types of changes in the health and body. You should be focused on a perfect procedure that can help you in eliminating stress and making things better. In case you are not able to cut down the stress, then you may face some higher level issues. It will lead to lots of negative elements.
If you are facing stress, then its negative of body function is slowing down the process. By slowing down all functions, it becomes hard for the body to push food. Here, the interested ones need to focus on the stress reliving methods. Mainly these are –
- Deep breathing
- Meditation
- Mental imagery relaxation
These ways can help you in overcoming lots of issues and avoiding various bad effects. By it, you can reduce the stress level and its bad effects on the body. Bringing such a kind of change in life will help you in working on treating chronic constipation with ease. In case you have any issues, then you should discuss all things with experts or you can visit here. They can provide some effective tips for better results.
Conclusion
If you are living with constipation, then bring some changes to your existing lifestyle. Increase your dietary intake, drink 3 to 4 liters of water every day, do a 20-minute brisk walk or light exercise to restore your bowel function.
As your body takes time to get used to lifestyle changes, see a doctor if you have any concerns or your condition is unbearable.
