After spending countless hours in my dorm room over the past 3 weeks, I’ve realize that the ‘Freshman 15’ is, indeed, very much possible. Though I am always kept busy with classes, that does not stop the countless snacking that goes on in my room during the homework hours or even just hanging out.
My roommate and I have repeatedly told ourselves that “bored eating” is not good and we will do everything in our power to avoid it. With this problem at hand, I realized that this might make a great and relatable blog post. Certainly, at one point in time, all of us have snacked on something even when we may have not been hungry.
“Why do we bored eat?” is the mystery question of it all. I decided to do a little research as to why it happens and how to avoid it. Emotional eating, bored eating, binge eating — it all ties into the same reasoning. Actually, there are a multitude of reasons as to why people over-eat or snack when they aren’t hungry, but I am only going to focus on a few.
- To Cope
- Common emotions like happiness, sadness and even anger can all contribute to one’s eating habits. According to SparkPeople, negative feelings will most likely result in the cravings of comfort food and salty, sweet snacks of that sort. This is because our brains think it is an alternative form of finding happiness to compensate for the negative emotions. To no surprise, this rarely solves any of the underlying issues. If anything, most people may feel food guilt afterwards.
- Out of Boredom
- this reason seems most relevant. Sometimes the occurrence isn’t out of overwhelming emotion, rather just boredom. “Boredom eating is an easy, automatic response to get into. Most of us develop it early in life and reinforce it for years and years.” (BistroMD)
- I found an extremely interesting study done by Discover Magazine that tested whether boredom promotes eating and if so, whether this effect likely reflects an increased drive for rewarding stimulation (positive reinforcement) or more plainly the drive to escape boredom (negative reinforcement).
- “These scientists bored participants by having them watch a loop of the same 85-second clip of a game of indoor tennis for an hour. During this time, some subjects were given M&Ms to munch on, and others received a device they could use to self-administer painful electric shocks. Because both types of stimulation were popular, the scientists conclude that people eat when bored to break the monotony, rather than for the pleasure of food itself.” (Discover)
- Because You’re Tired
- almost any college student can relate to the feeling of excessive sleep deprivation or mid-afternoon grogginess. Most of the time, people will resort to sugary snacks or drinks in hopes it will give them an energy boost. Though they may not even be hungry, their brain sends signals as if it needs sugar. Almost all of the time, those sugar rushes will lead to an even worse crash.
Typically, “comfort foods” are the go-to snack mainly because we sought comforting – high fat, high starch, or high sugar foods like ice cream, pizza, or processed candies. These foods also spike certain neurotransmitters in the brain, which is why we initially feel so good or at least THINK we do. There is no permanent cure for one’s stress, anxiety or depression through the solution of eating. One of the top reasons these kinds of binges are bad is because it creates a cycle in our brain, allowing us to THINK we want more and more. This is a leading cause to weight gain. (Growing Human Kindness)
Although I am frequently a victim of this seemingly unsurpassable binge-eating dilemma, I have learned that there are many solutions to avoid bored eating. Things like getting more sleep, drinking lots of water, chewing gum in between meals or keeping an all around busier, more structured schedule are certainly ways to curb your thoughts about food. The rule of thumb is to keep busy and keep your mind from assuming hunger. If you’re going to snack, lean towards the healthier choices like fruits, nuts, whole grains and other non-processed foods.
Sources:
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=1660&page=3
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/seriouslyscience/2015/02/04/eat-bored/#.Vfo1R53BzGc
http://www.bistromd.com/health-tips/boredom-eating-youre-not-hungry-youre-bored
http://growinghumankindness.com/5-reasons-why-you-overeat/
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/shrink/201206/i-am-bored-therefore-i-eat
This has always been one of the biggest struggles for me. During the summer is when I find myself “bored eating” the most just because I’m not as busy and will find myself constantly looking for something to eat just because I have nothing to do. During the school year I find it easier to control because I just simply don’t have time to snack. Like you said most of the time I go for the fatty foods for comfort which really doesn’t help the Freshman 15. Heres a link I found for tips on how to prevent yourself from bored eating click here
Boredom eating is certainly an issue that a lot of people struggle with. I liked how in your article you also pointed out how some people eat to cope or also as an attempt to boost their energy to get through the rest of the day. A separate, but related issue, is stress eating. This article, from Harvard Health Publications, clearly explains what stress eating is and ways to prevent it. A separate article I found also provides suggestions on how to stop boredom eating. These are both great resources, especially for college students.
I can unfortunately relate to this really well. I also suffer from “bored eating”, and even though I try to avoid it, my self control when it comes to food isn’t too good. So many people have talked to me about freshman 15 though, so I’m determined to beat this habit. I found this (article) online that gives out tips to beat the freshman 15 and avoid it, check it out!