Why does my poop schedule change when I travel?

Research suggest that most humans poop fairly regularly in the morning, and rarely do so at night. Traveling to a different time zone and/or experiencing jet lag can shift your usual schedule forward or back by several hours, which may mess with the usual restroom routine.



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If you're stressed about travel — the planning, the packing, the flight — it could register in your enteric nervous system, which can affect the regularity of bowel movements, as well as cause gas, bloating, and abdominal discomfort, Poppers says.

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Typically, this occurs due to how traveling may disrupt the body's natural rhythm. For example, time changes, altered eating schedules, and insufficient sleep and activity levels can all affect digestion. As such, travel is a common cause of constipation.

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It's possible that traveler's diarrhea may stem from the stress of traveling or a change in diet. But usually infectious agents — such as bacteria, viruses or parasites — are to blame. You typically develop traveler's diarrhea after ingesting food or water contaminated with organisms from feces.

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Changes in diet can affect the way your stool smells. For example, eating more spicy food or higher quantities of meat than you usually do will likely produce stronger smelling stools. Significant changes to your diet while traveling can also change the way your stool smells.

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If you have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), travel can present some not-so-fun challenges. The cramping, bloating and other icky symptoms of IBS can make travel by plane or vehicle anxiety-ridden and stressful.

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Acute infectious diarrhea associated with travel (i.e., travelers' diarrhea) has been identified as an important risk factor for the development of initial-onset IBS.

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The rigors of travel, anxiety about bathroom access, strange foods, and disrupted sleep schedules can all serve to exacerbate the discomforts of IBS symptoms.

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Make sure your pre-travel diet includes plenty of fiber, which makes stools softer and more comfortable to pass. Foods high in fiber include many fruits, like apples (with the skin), raspberries, and pears; beans; and whole-grain foods such as bran cereal.

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Stock up on safe foods Make sure you pack things that are travel-friendly. For people who have IBS-D, you may want to pack things that slow your GI movement like oatmeal packets or dried figs. For people who experience IBS-C, you may wants to pack some ground flaxseed or nuts and seeds.

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