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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 ofThe 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 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 inFrontiers 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 canencourage 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.
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SourcesEatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.McGill University Office for Science and Society.The Unbearable Poopness of BookstoresSakurai N, Nagasaka K, Takahashi S, et al.Brain function effects of autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) video viewing.Frontiers in Neuroscience. 2023. doi:10.3389/fnins.2023.1025745.United States Department of Agriculture.2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Sources
EatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.McGill University Office for Science and Society.The Unbearable Poopness of BookstoresSakurai N, Nagasaka K, Takahashi S, et al.Brain function effects of autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) video viewing.Frontiers in Neuroscience. 2023. doi:10.3389/fnins.2023.1025745.United States Department of Agriculture.2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
EatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.
McGill University Office for Science and Society.The Unbearable Poopness of BookstoresSakurai N, Nagasaka K, Takahashi S, et al.Brain function effects of autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) video viewing.Frontiers in Neuroscience. 2023. doi:10.3389/fnins.2023.1025745.United States Department of Agriculture.2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
McGill University Office for Science and Society.The Unbearable Poopness of Bookstores
Sakurai N, Nagasaka K, Takahashi S, et al.Brain function effects of autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) video viewing.Frontiers in Neuroscience. 2023. doi:10.3389/fnins.2023.1025745.
United States Department of Agriculture.2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
