You Sleep Less

Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night thinking about your job or your latest phone bill? More than 40% of people do this at night, which confirms that they are exposed to stress.

That’s the main reason for insomnia. In these moments your mind is overactive and disabled to shut down. Stress reduces the blood sugar levels, which leads to fatigue. Drinking coffee to stay awake or alcohol to relax before going to bed additionally disrupts your sleeping cycle.

Sleeping is also a powerful factor that affects the weight gain. Whenever you lack sleep, your body requires more sugar. Experts conducted a study which involved people who were trying to lose some weight, and they found that people who sleep enough get the desired results more easily than those who struggle with insomnia.

Anxiety

Adrenaline rush is a sign that your body is activated. Although the adrenaline can help you burn some calories, anxiety often causes emotional eating. Overeating or eating unhealthy foods come as a response to stress.

According to the latest research of the American Psychological Association, 40% of respondents said that food helps them deal with anxiety, and 42% sit for at least 2 hours in front of the TV for the same reason.

This means that anxiety disables you to burn those extra calories, and while you eat you can not focus on the taste of the food, nor control the feeling of satiety. In that situation, you may eat as much as you can, but you will never feel full.

How to relieve stress

Exercise

Aerobic exercises will help you knock stress out. Exercising reduces the level of cortisol and triggers the body to release chemicals that relieve pain and improve your mood. Exercising also boosts your metabolism, and you can reduce the fatty deposits easily.

Learn how to eat smart

This mental program will teach you how to cope with stress and change your attitude towards food. You will learn how to take things slowly and thereby turn your food sensors on, and they will tell you how the food looks or smells like and also what is its texture like.

You will learn how to listen to your body and understand its signals about hunger and satiety, and you will eat only when you are hungry, not whenever the table is set or when it is lunch time. This will relieve the stress and depression.

Find activities to overcome stress

Reading a book, doing yoga, massage, walking your dog, spending some quality time with your friends or family could help you relieve stress and avoid gaining weight. You may think that you do not have time for these activities, but this is a great way to relieve stress and feel fresh. These activities will help you think more clearly and thus avoid frequent overeating.