Burping is natural and common – burping as many as four times after a meal is considered normal.
It’s caused by swallowing excess air, which can happen if you eat or drink too fast, talk while you eat or drink carbonated beverages.
But if you burp all the time even when not eating, according to gastroenterologist Dr Ken Brown, it’s time to make some changes to your lifestyle.
Issuing advice on TikTok on behalf of supplement brand Atrantil, Dr Brown explained what could be causing your excessive burping and how to stop it.
While it’s common to swallow air when you’re eating, Dr Brown listed other incidences when this might happen.
He explained: “If you find yourself burping often, and think about it, if it actually happens during stressful situations, there is something called aerophagia, which means that you’re actually swallowing small amounts of air.”
Dr Brown suggested a couple of things you can do to try and stop that.
1. Pay very close attention to how you’re breathing
Dr Brown advised: “Try and focus on nasal breathing and long exhales. This will calm you down when you get stressed your upper oesophageal sphincter can relax a little bit and you’ll swallow air without realising that.”
2. Be careful when you use a straw
People will also suck in air, he said.
3. Try not to chew gum because
This will also do that.
Dr Brown added: “Something that also gets missed is that if you’re having acid reflux, it sends a signal to produce more saliva and make you swallow more often
“All of these are reasons why you may be burping all the time.”
If your burping starts to interfere with your day-to-day life you may want to consider talking to your doctor about it.