How Stress Contributes to the Freshmen 15

Going into my freshmen year of college, I was so excited to start new. But, as the year went on and things became more of a routine and less exciting, I noticed a major increase in my stress level. With the stress increase came an increase of workload. In the beginning of the year, I handled this stress by eating. I would be up until 2 a.m. studying for upcoming tests and getting ahead on other assignments. Staying up gave me more of an appetite therefor, I began to late night snack.

In an article from The Atlantic, it explain why late night snacking is bad for you. The article states that research has shown that late night snacking can mess up your metabolism. Therefor, your body is not processing the foods correctly. In this case, you will wake up in the morning still bloated because your bodies internal class is off.

You're probably asking yourself what you can do for your stress if the answer is not eating. I have figured out that getting more organized has helped me become less stressed which has stopped staying up late which, ultimately, has stopped the snacking. Staying organized and making myself a planner allowed me to finish my work before it was time for bed. This also gave me time for the gym, if I decided to go.