Chronic stress is widely known to throw digestion off balance, leading to symptoms like diarrhea or constipation. New findings set to be presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2026 suggest that eating late at night may make these problems worse, with potential effects on both digestive function and the gut microbiome. "It's not just what you eat, but when you eat it," said Harika Dadigiri, MD, resident physician at New York Medical College at Saint Mary's and Saint Clare's Hospital, and the study's lead author. "And when we're already under stress, that timing may deliver a 'double hit' to gut health." Stress and Late Night Eating Linked to Digestive Problems To explore this connection, researchers examined data from more than 11,000 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. They looked at how chronic stress, late night eating, and bowel issues are related.…