Your digestive system operates optimally in the parasympathetic rest-and-digest state. When you eat while stressed or distracted (sympathetic dominant), blood flow is directed away from the gut, digestive enzyme production decreases, and gastric motility slows. A brief breathing exercise before meals shifts your nervous system into the state designed for efficient digestion — a simple intervention that can meaningfully reduce bloating, discomfort, and poor nutrient absorption.
The pre-meal breathing protocol is simple: 1-2 minutes of coherence or extended exhale breathing before you begin eating. This activates parasympathetic pathways that increase saliva production, stimulate digestive enzyme secretion, enhance gastric motility, and direct blood flow to the digestive organs. The result is a digestive system that is primed and ready to efficiently process your meal.
For people with digestive issues — IBS, bloating, acid reflux, or poor appetite — pre-meal breathing can be transformative. Many digestive complaints are directly caused or worsened by eating in a sympathetic state. Simply pausing to breathe before meals addresses this overlooked contributor to digestive dysfunction. The practice also naturally slows down the transition to eating, reducing the mindless speed-eating that compounds digestive problems.