It goes without saying that almost all university students experience stress during their degree, whether it’s a little or a lot. What most people don’t recognise, however, is the domino effect that these perfectly common feelings of stress and anxiety during your studies can have on your overall mood, confidence, and yes, even eating habits!
Feeling stressed out when under pressure is your body’s natural, physical response to threat – now, whilst the age of needing eyes in the back of your head to avoid predators attacking on a daily basis is long gone, in this day and age an assignment deadline can feel just as daunting. Unfortunately, I’m not exaggerating.
When you think of the effects of stress, the first thought may be the worsening of anxiety and depression. This is certainly true, and practising self-care is vital to having the happiest and most fulfilling time at university and life beyond your studies. In the same vein, self-care includes maintaining a nutritious diet, something that can definitely go awry for university students faced with the pressures of getting good grades and sometimes just trying to stay awake during that 9.am. (I feel your pain.)
Think about your eating habits. Do you:
- Skip meals (like breakfast when you’re running late, or lunch when you’re at uni all day and forgot to prepare)?
- Binge on snacks in the evenings?
- Regularly order takeaways, eat ready meals, or cook oven food?
- Cook simple meals without much veg when you feel overloaded with work e.g. toast/pasta?
- Eat at completely random times because your sleeping pattern is too random to plan around?
I hold my hands up to being guilty of more than one of these things – and it can detrimentally affect my motivation and productivity at university. It’s important to recognise the bad habits you have unconsciously adopted and try to place eating well just as high on your list of priorities as studying (and clubbing).
Try to follow these tips to focus on eating better in future:
- Cook meals in bulk so that when you are feeling stressed about work you can grab a nutritious meal just as fast as making a pot noodle or shoving a pizza in the oven.
- Practise a handful of healthy and tasty recipes – like stir fries or pasta and veggies with simple sauces such as pesto. The more you practise them, the easier they will become and you will more likely gravitate towards these meals instead of wasting money on takeaways!
- Stock up on grab-and-go foods like fruit, nuts and healthy breakfast bars for something nutritious even when you’re running late. The option of grabbing these instead of paying double the price in a vending machine on unhealthy snacks can really save your bank account!
- Prepare lunch the night before you have a long day of classes, and attempt to get up at least an hour before you have to leave to allow yourself time for a relaxing breakfast.
- Download a spending tracker app and create a limited budget for takeaways and ready meals. This way you know when it’s getting out of hand and when to say no.
Most importantly, no matter how much you need to study and how much you’re stressing about it, you’re undoubtedly going to be much less efficient running on junk food, or worse, an empty stomach. Drink plenty of water (rather than tea and coffee whenever possible) and make regular meal breaks a religion.
These tips will help fight stress, fatigue and low mood in the long run by providing you with the energy to boss your degree!
Edited By Isabelle Walker
Sources
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/145855.php
https://www.rd.com/health/wellness/skipping-breakfast/
https://www.theodysseyonline.com/5-things-any-stressed-person-needs-to-do
https://www.arabiaweddings.com/tips/health-fitness/tips-to-stop-stress-eating
https://giphy.com/gifs/well-shia-labeouf-txf-PzTKUveemMwCI
https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-healthy-snacks-wooden-table-top-view-image75307120