Not sleeping well, eating when you are not hungry, being irritable, the fluff of hair on the back of your head is starting to look sparse (weasels, in particular)? You may be stressed! Stress manifests itself in many ways and is a cause of a lot of problems. The problem that we are most concerned about is overeating or eating when you are not hungry, as a way of dealing with stress.
You may be wondering why do we eat when we are stressed?
When we are stressed, our body releases stress hormones, and these stress hormones make us crave sweet, salty and comfort food. In the short term, stress can actually suppress appetite, but if the stress persists, your body releases a hormone called cortisol, and this hormone increases your appetite. The more you are stressed, the more cortisol is released by your body, and the greater will be your appetite🙄.
Why are our stress levels increasing?
There are lots of theories to explain why human stress levels are increasing. Our ancestors may have not had to deal with instant messaging and social media, but we don’t have to deal with a lot of the stresses that our ancestors faced. So, the nature of the challenges changed, but we all face(d) challenges. One of the biggest differences between the current generation and previous generations is the size of the global population. On average, the population seems to be increasing by over 50% with every new generation – the current generation is born into a population of close to 7.8 billion people. Their parents were born at a time when the global population was close to 5 billion, and their grandparents were born at a time when the global population was somewhere between 2.5 and 3 billion. As the population increases, we find ourselves competing for limited resources, and this is possibly one of the main reasons for the increase in stress levels. Due to climate change, we potentially face a rapid decline in resources, and this could exacerbate the problem… we urgently need to manage our stress levels!
Fortunately, there are lots of easy ways to deal with stress – even in our current overpopulated and tech-driven world:
Meditation: It helped our ancestors (ok, maybe just the ancestors from India), and it continues to help us in our current hectic lives. As little as 5 minutes of meditation a day will make a big difference to your stress levels.
Yoga: As with meditation, yoga has been practiced for many thousands of years. Despite its long history, we continue to find new benefits from practicing yoga. Whatever your preference, there is a form of yoga that will meet your needs.
Do some deep breathing: A simple action of taking a few deep breaths will result in more air flowing into your body which can reduce stress, anxiety, and pain.
Enjoy nature: Go for a walk in the park, in a forest or in any other green space. One of the big differences between our current lives relative to those of previous generations is that we are exposed to less nature and more concrete.
Exercise: Physical activity can produce endorphins which naturally makes you feel better and more relaxed.
Do something creative: Stress is normally the result of us focusing on a certain problem or event. A creative activity is an excellent way to distract ourselves from the overhanging problem, which can result in lower stress levels.
And lastly – have a laugh: Laughing is a natural stress buster. Like exercise, laughing increases air intake, and stimulates your heart. It also results in the brain releasing endorphins.
Another interesting question: Do weasels and other animals get stressed? 😁
Yes, animals get stressed as measured by stress hormones released by their bodies. Stress in animals is largely a result of environmental factors including threat from other animals and humans. It has been observed that humans and primates get more stressed than other animals. Stanford University neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky believes that this is because humans and apes are highly intelligent relative to other animals, and this does influence our levels of stress¹. Does this mean that stress levels vary between humans based on their level of intelligence? 🤔
¹ Stanford University. “Why Do Humans And Primates Get More Stress-related Diseases Than Other Animals?” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 25 February 2007. (Accessed on 9 Nov. 2022: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070218134333.htm).
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