Exercise is good for our health. It has many great benefits, including emotional, mental, and physical health benefits.
However, adding exercise to our daily routines seems to be a hell of a task. It isn’t just enough to exercise. We must reap the benefits of our exercise. It is also important that we don’t overdo it, and thus, experience the negative effects. Nevertheless, working out is good. It is something that we should look forward to.
Nausea after exercise is one of the many negative side effects of exercise. The good news is that you can avoid it. Here’s the thing: some days when we feel fatigued, decreasing the chance of feeling nauseous after exercise can make all the difference.
Photo by Sergio Pedemonte on Unplash
Take your time. Do not start or end too abruptly
Do a little warm-up before you start the workout properly. A warm-up will help to stretch your muscles and set your heart rate into the ‘non-injurious’ target zone. After exercise, cool down. This will ease your heart rate also. An abrupt start or stop is one of the major causes of nausea after exercise.
Our organs are prone to fatigue, just like our joints and muscles. Starting or stopping an exercise abruptly can cause jarring of our organs. It is therefore important that you start gradually and be sure to take some rest.
Having meals before working out
Nausea after exercise also occurs when the blood flowing to our stomach and gastrointestinal tract is rerouted to the exercising muscles. This slows down digestion and causes severe discomfort.
Eating before exercise can cause a reduction in blood flow to the GI tract. This will result in dizziness or nausea due to dehydration.
You mustn’t eat right before exercising. Note that high-protein and fatty foods do not digest easily. And so, they are more likely to trigger nausea.
Eat little before working out, it doesn’t matter the kind of food. However, you are better off eating foods that are easy to digest. Whatever you want to eat should be taken at least 3 hours before working out.
You mustn’t overhydrate. Overhydration dilutes the electrolytes in your blood. This results in hyponatremia. Hyponatremia is a medical term for low sodium concentration. What’s more? Hyponatremia can lead to nausea. The summary of it is that you should minimize water intake before you work out. Also, eat foods that digest faster.
The type of exercise you do also matters
Running, and other intense workouts can cause nausea after exercise.
It is easy to understand. Intense exercise will jostle everything that is in your stomach, thus resulting in nausea.
Do less intense exercise. You may door indoor cycling instead of Zumba, for instance. You can also take small sips of water if you hadn’t drunk while you ate.
Heat
When you exercise in the heat, you will sweat. Sweating detoxes your system. However, it can also cause low blood pressure and intense dehydration, resulting in reduced blood supply.
Yoga students, for instance, are often encouraged to take many breaks in heated yoga classes. They are also often encouraged to stay hydrated. This is important. If you are working out in the heat, be sure to hydrate properly.
It is also important that you take little breaks. Taking little breaks during your workout will make your exercise session similar to a high-intensity interval training (HIIT). You burn more calories during a HIIT compared to exercising at one pace the whole time.
In summary
Many people feel great after a session of exercise. This is not surprising as exercise pumps our endorphins, and also pushes us closer to our fitness goals.
Having nausea after exercise can discourage you from exercising, and if you stop, your happiness, focus, sleep, etc. will be impacted.
For those who do regular workouts, the factors above contribute to nausea they experience after exercise. So, you must consider the suggestions made in this article.
If you have very intense nausea, one that fails to go away, then consult your healthcare provider.
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