I did it, too. Last weekend, when I went grocery shopping, I loaded my cart with candy, pizza and all the foods I wouldn’t otherwise let myself buy all at once. Why? They’re final foods, of course. Meals during the last weeks of the semester are all about convenience. And I hope I’m not the only one who fully adopts the mantra “calories don’t count” when I’m too stressed to even wash my hair, let alone worry about what I inhale on my way to the library.
The foods that we usually crave while face down in our biology book are always unhealthy: we do not want a piece of fruit, we want something caffeinated or sugary. We all know that junk food is not a way to live on finals week, but since there’s so many other things we care more about (like passing our classes), we don’t even care. Yet, while studying, even if we have eaten no less than we normally would, we feel hunger pangs. Is finals snacking a product of extra brainpower, stress or boredom?
A study released in the journal of Psychosomatic Medicine suggests that studying actually increases caloric intake because intellectual work does use more calories—even, if it is only three more calories than relaxing. The extremely slight increase, though, leads to a very large consumption of food proportionally. It becomes clear that although we didn’t burn more we felt like we did, and therefore ate like it too. This demand could be in response to the body needing to restore Glucose levels (aka brain food) after and during studying.
Remedies? Unfortunately there is no proven way to prevent hunger pangs while studying, or even cravings. But if you are a strong willed soul who can resist the temptation of Oreos and Cocoa Puffs (and even if you’re like me, and can’t), these tips may help:
1. Do not keep snack foods around your desk. Make sure you have to get up to grab them.
2. Avoid eating foods with lots of sodium (i.e. Ramen) late at night. The sodium is hard to digest and may prevent you from falling asleep when it’s finally time to crash.
3. Caffeine is not the answer. Try to drink at least eight ounces of water for every two hours of studying. This can help keep your energy levels high.
4. You may be more prone to snacking, and eating more when you do, if the people around you are eating. Be aware of this and when you feel that craving coming on, wait ten minutes and decide if you’re really hungry.
The ideal situation is to not have any junk food around to weaken your resolve, but it’s finals week—maybe the only good part about the end of the semester. If snacking is the only thing that keeps you chugging along, then maybe caloric sacrifices are worth it.