We have all had “those” days: Your morning starts by spilling coffee on your pants. You have to change, making you late for
work. Then, you get pulled into a
meeting you certainly weren’t prepared for and realize you also forgot your gym
bag at home.
After a day like this, some people turn to comfort food
while others decompress by sweating it out.
Why is that the case?
It has a lot to do with hormones and psychology. In order to comprehend how your body reacts
to stress, you need to understand how these elements come into play.
When facing acute stress, your body is thrown into “fight or
flight” mode. Your endocrine system
starts pushing out adrenaline, which puts eating on hold. However, if this level of stress continues
for too long, these hormones will cause some severe damage, so your body needs
to calm down, or at least shift to a set of hormones better suited for
long-term stress. It does this by releasing nor-adrenaline and cortisol.
So does chronic stress makes you desire fatty, sugary foods? Since these foods have more calories—and
more calories means more energy to handle your nerve-racking task—some research
shows cortisol can make you crave them. Nonetheless, you also yearn for these “comfort
foods” because you (and your body) know they make you briefly happier.
If stress keeps you from sleeping well, then there’s another
hormone that can wreak mayhem on your appetite. Sleep deprivation is associated with higher levels of the hormone
ghrelin, increased hunger, and higher BMI. Even a single night of sleep deprivation seems ample to increase ghrelin
and hunger. Being sleep deprived fuels
the production ghrelin, and it declines the levels of leptin (which tells you
to stop eating).
Yet, in times of stress, some people consume comfort food,
while others don’t eat much at all. These
responses have a lot to do with how you’ve been conditioned to deal with
stress.
When your brain is exhausted or stressed, it wants to follow
the trail of least resistance. So, if at
some point, you taught it that cupcakes and ice cream cheer you up; you’re
going to look for them when you’ve had a rough day. Nonetheless, the same goes for a workout. People have a tendency to default on habits
during stressful circumstances because they’re safe and soothing.
Are YOU ready to STOP your stress eating? Contact me if you'd like help with this. I'd love to do a FREE health consultation with YOU!
~ J. Lynn
