Why Are You Feeling Nauseated After a Workout?

You may experience nausea after some workouts, but why does this happen? Feeling nauseated after a workout is a common side effect that happens to a lot of people. It’s more common than you think, but people rarely talk about it. In fact, a 2017 study showed that women experience nausea, reflux, or stomach fullness in around 1/3 of their runs over a 30-day period.

This can happen with any workout that requires you to push yourself. While it’s not pleasant, it’s nothing to worry about. The cause is physiological: as your blood starts pumping during the workout, your body distributes it to the muscles, leaving a little for the stomach and making you feel sick.

The most likely situations for feeling nauseated during a workout include doing the work that your body’s not used to. While pushing yourself is important and even necessary in order to progress, you may want to do it gradually if you don’t want to feel sick after every session. When you eat before working out also matters – plan the workout session around 1.5-3 hours after a meal.