Tue Dec 02 07:49:57 UTC 2025: Okay, here’s a news article summarizing the provided text:
Headline: Anxiety Hijacks Your Body: Why Stress Triggers Bathroom Urgency
New Delhi, December 2, 2025 – A new article published by The Hindu’s “Health Matters” today sheds light on the often-uncomfortable link between anxiety and increased urgency to urinate or defecate. The piece, penned by Ramya Kannan, explores how the body’s “fight-or-flight” response, triggered by stress, significantly alters bodily functions.
When anxiety strikes, adrenaline surges, redistributing blood flow and muscle tone. This affects the bladder and bowels, making the bladder muscle more irritable and loosening the sphincter, leading to a sensation of fullness or leakage. Similarly, the article explains, anxiety can accelerate intestinal contractions, resulting in cramps and the sudden need to relieve oneself.
Researchers suggest this phenomenon may be rooted in evolutionary biology. Emptying the bladder or bowels could potentially lighten the body, enhance agility, and eliminate internal distractions during moments of danger.
Furthermore, the article highlights that anxiety increases awareness of bodily sensations. Signals from the bladder and gut that are typically ignored become more prominent. This sensitivity is particularly pronounced in individuals with chronic anxiety, where heightened nerve activity and stress hormones can exacerbate conditions like Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), causing increased gas and cramps.
The “Health Matters” article is part of The Hindu’s e-Paper offerings, which also include sections like “The View From India,” “First Day First Show,” “Today’s Cache,” “Science For All,” “Data Point,” and “The Hindu On Books,” providing a comprehensive perspective on global affairs, cinema, technology, science, data analysis, and literature.
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