Have semesters around the corner and you are realizing there are whole 3 subjects that are untouched. You decided to burn the midnight oil by staying up late, you sit and start working on it now after realizing how hard the subjects are proving to be, and due to all the stress, you think of munching and studying. Now, you taking a trip to the kitchen after every half an hour and bringing in truckloads of snacks to binge it whole through the night. What do you think is happening here? Controlling appetite is not an easy task, even though many claims that they have control over their

What is stress eating?

This is a very tricky matter, as eating has always been one of the major sources of anxiety and depression. The problem is that most people do not realize the consequences of stress eating. You are now working under a bunch of stressful circumstances, so you tend to indulge your anxieties by munching on the brain, bread, chips, ice cream, and other stuff. All of this you are doing because you want to relieve the stress you are going through by grabbing all the junk food. But what do you do? Do you suffer from a condition that is classified as an eating disorder and now you have to fight the battle of eating disorders at the hands of your therapist? You always had a bad habit of indulging in binge eating and eating your weight.

Why do we crave food when stressed?

The human brain is made to do two things, sleep and solve problems. There is a battle between craving food and sleep and we fail to do that. We do not realize that overeating during stress is one of the reasons why people do not lose weight or do not have healthy body weight. What we have to understand is that our brain is always trying to tell us where we should be, how much we should be, and what we should and should not eat. For some reason, it cannot distinguish between a good time and a bad time to eat. When we are stressed and our brain wants to satisfy a particular need, it will go to seek what it needs and give preference to our craving rather than what it should eat. I have seen people starving to death when they did not realize that they were not eating enough.

How exercise can help curb your stress eating

• Exercise and stress relief: Exercise increases your overall health and your sense of well-being, which puts more pep in your step every day. But exercise also has some direct stress-busting benefits.
• It pumps up your endorphins. Physical activity may help bump up the production of your brain's feel-good neurotransmitters, called endorphins. Although this function is often referred to as a runner's high, any aerobic activity, such as a rousing game of tennis or a nature hike, can contribute to this same feeling.
• It reduces the negative effects of stress. Exercise can provide stress relief for your body while imitating effects of stress, such as the flight or fight response, and helping your body and its systems practice working together through those effects. This can also lead to positive effects in your body—including your cardiovascular, digestive, and immune systems—by helping protect your body from the harmful effects of stress.
• It's meditation in motion. After a fast-paced game of racquetball, a long walk or run, or several laps in the pool, you may often find that you've forgotten the day's irritations and concentrated only on your body's movements.
• As you begin to regularly shed your daily tensions through movement and physical activity, you may find that this focus on a single task, and the resulting energy and optimism, can help you stay calm, clear, and focused in everything you do.

Conclusion

I think you would agree that sleep plays a very crucial role in sustaining your wellness and productivity. The more you get, the more you can focus and follow your schedule. I wish you all good luck in this exam season and hope you perform your best.

FAQs

How does eating healthy along with exercising helps with stress?

It is shown in the studies that by making your body stronger and healthier, exercising and healthy eating enhances your ability to respond to stress and thus preventing its negative effects such as depression, anxiety, heart diseases etc.

How to control stress induced eating?

In order to help with stress eating, one can keep in mind the following points:

• Maintain a diary for your day to day meal time. write down all that you are eating and in what quantity
• Have a hunger reality check
• Get support
• Try fighting boredom by doing something productive
• Try taming your stress
• Do not deprive yourself
• Snack healthy

What foods help reducing stress?

Some of the foods that help with reducing stress are listed below:

1. Yogurt
2. Peanut
3. Pumpkin seeds
4. Eggs
5. Dark chocolate