Why You Feel the Urge to Poop When You Enter Bookstores, According to a Gastroenterologist
Could the smell and sight of all those books stimulate the need to poop?
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Reviewed by Dietitian Annie Nguyen, M.A., RD
Have you ever experienced the weird phenomenon of having to poop soon after you’ve walked into your favorite bookstore?
Random question, I know. But stick with me. I didn’t just make this up.
In a May 13, 2024, Instagram reel, Will Bulsiewicz M.D., MSCI—aka Dr. B, aka @theguthealthmd—a gastroenterologist and author of The Fiber Fueled Cookbook, posed this question.
“Have you ever been in a bookstore and had to go to the bathroom and drop a dump?” asks Dr. B in his typical no-holds-barred fashion (nothing like dumping, I mean, jumping, right to the point!).
Dr. B then goes on to explain why he’s asking this, stating that it’s a legitimate question. “There’s someone named Mariko Aoki and she wrote about this—the phenomenon of being in a bookstore and having to go No. 2. Why would that be?”
The Bookstore-Bowel Movement Connection
According to a 2022 article by McGill University’s Office for Science and Society, there are a few theories. One is that the smell of all those freshly inked and bound books may trigger something through the olfactory system to “down below.”
The other is similar to Pavlov’s dogs, who were conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell in anticipation of being fed. Regarding bookstores and pooping, the theory is that if you tend to read while on the throne, your brain is conditioned to connect books with pooping. So you enter a bookstore filled with books and … you get the picture.
Then there’s the theory that the stress and anxiety of picking just the right book might speed up your heart rate and how quickly things move through your intestines, sending you running to the bathroom.
But there’s the flip side—that stepping into a bookstore is a calming experience, allowing everything, including your intestines, to relax.
Dr. B subscribes to that last one.
“I’ll give you my interpretation,” says Dr. B. “I think it’s because it’s activation of the parasympathetic nervous system. Being in a bookstore is almost an ASMR-type effect. You have the relaxing music. You have the books. You have the smell. It’s kind of quiet, hushed tones, and it gets you very relaxed, which activates your parasympathetic nervous system. That is the part of your nervous system that is rest and digest. When you rest and you digest, you stimulate motility, and this can lead to a fantastic No. 2.”
Let’s break down what he’s saying here.
First, what the heck is an ASMR-type effect? According to a 2023 article in Frontiers in Neuroscience, ASMR stands for autonomous sensory meridian response. An ASMR response is the sensation of tingling from audiovisual stimuli that leads to positive emotions. This method is used to induce relaxation and sleep, and reduce stress and anxiety. And there is evidence that you don’t necessarily need the tingling to get this reaction. Certain sights and sounds alone can stimulate this response. So if the bookstore is your happy place, being there may elicit the ASMR response in your body.
Next, the parasympathetic nervous system calms things down. I remember this by thinking “parachute,” which also slows things down. While we may normally equate nerve stimulation with revving things up, stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system brings calm, partly by lowering heart and breathing rates. The primary nerve involved in this relaxation response is the vagus nerve—the largest cranial nerve that starts in the brain and wanders down the body, touching nearly every major organ (fun fact: “vagus” is Latin for “wandering”).
The vagus nerve is also known as the “rest and digest nerve” because your GI system tends to work more efficiently when you’re in a more relaxed state. And, as Dr. B says, this stimulates motility—moving your food, which turns into poop, through your gut—resulting in that amazing No. 2.
But this does make sense. Think about when you’re all nerved up. How does that feel in the pit of your stomach? It usually sends me running to the bathroom with some pretty serious urgency and diarrhea—which, by the way, would not be considered a “fantastic No. 2.”
Dr. B does interject that there is another part to this that he needs to give a shout-out to: the coffee (assuming you’re at a bookstore with a coffee shop): “Coffee is also known to stimulate bowel movements.”
He goes on to say, though, that his point is that, assuming visiting a bookstore stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, it’s comparable to people who practice deep breathing, which has the same effect. “If you [perform deep breathing exercises] consistently, it actually will help you to have more regular bowel movements,” explains Dr. B.
Related: 6 Ways Stress Can Mess with Your Digestion
4 Tips to Help You Go No. 2
Since most of us don’t visit a bookstore every day, there are other ways, in addition to deep breathing, to ensure a proper poop.
Get your fill of fiber. The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends an average of 28 grams of fiber per day. You can get this by including whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds in your daily menu.
Hydrate. Dry, hard stools are no fun to pass. Increase your water intake, especially as you increase your fiber intake. This will help keep your poop the proper consistency and keep it moving on down the GI tract.
Move your body. Physical activity helps keep things moving through your gut, too. And if you’ve ever been in a yoga class, you know it can also help reduce gas and bloating (there’s even a “wind-relieving” pose—lie on your back and pull both knees into your chest—then let ’er rip).
Chill out. Besides deep breathing, find other stress-reducing activities—like reading, meditating and chatting with a friend. And make sure you’re getting enough quality sleep, since sleep deprivation can increase stress levels.
The Bottom Line
While there is no one definitive reason why visiting a bookstore might stimulate the need to visit the restroom, we are more certain of other things that can encourage regularity. This includes eating at regular intervals and including enough fiber in your diet, staying well-hydrated, moving your body more often, and taking the time to stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system.
I, personally, have found that practicing deep breathing while visualizing poop moving through my system and out of my body has helped keep me regular. TMI? Perhaps, but what happens with vagus doesn’t have to stay there.
Read the original article on Eating Well.
