{"id":1013,"date":"2020-11-06T00:01:30","date_gmt":"2020-11-06T00:01:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/healthandwellbeing-news\/?p=1013"},"modified":"2020-10-29T20:12:39","modified_gmt":"2020-10-29T20:12:39","slug":"the-links-between-nutrition-physical-activity-and-stress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/healthandwellbeing-news\/2020\/11\/06\/the-links-between-nutrition-physical-activity-and-stress\/","title":{"rendered":"The Links Between Nutrition, Physical Activity and Stress"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Stress,  we  all  have  it,  some  more  than  others.  Most  of  the  time  we  get  stressed  about  things  that we  think  are  out  of  our  control.  But  what  if  our  stress  is  being  added  to  by  things  that  are  actually well  within  our  control, like  our  diets  and  physical  activity?   <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lightening  the  load  of  our  stresses  can  make  dealing  with  the  left  over  stress  easier.  Much  how once  you\u2019re  stressed  it  is  easier  to  become  more  stressed,  it  also  works  the  same  the  other  way, by  chipping away  at the  stress  you  carry,  the  better  equipped you  are  to  deal  with  the  rest.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So  where  can  you  start?  The  things  we  eat  or  don\u2019t  eat  and  the  things  we  do  or  don\u2019t  do,  will  be having knock  on  affects  to  our  stress  levels,  here  are  some  things  to  consider  below  &#8211; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Nutrition <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Everyone  knows  having  a  terrible  diet  isn\u2019t  good  for  you,  but  elements  of  your  diet  may  be contributing to  your  feelings  of stress  without you  even  knowing it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Too  much  coffee!<\/strong>  \u2013  Or  more  specifically,  caffeine.  Apart  from  kick  starting  your  day, caffeine  has  some  negative  effects  on  you.  Not  only  is  it  addictive,  it  can  also  increase Cortisol  (stress  hormone)  levels  which  can  result  in  you  feeling  nervous,  having headaches,  heart  palpitations  and  overall  stressed.  Cutting  down  on  your  caffeine  can help  reduce  contributors  to  your  stress  levels.<\/li><li><strong>Skipping  meals<\/strong>  \u2013  When  you\u2019re  stressed  your  appetite  can  go  out  the  window,  perhaps you\u2019ve  got  too  much  to  do.  Stopping  to  eat  gives  you  a  chance  to  slow  down  allowing  you to  de-stress,  so  it\u2019s  important you  don\u2019t skip  your  down  times  to  eat.<\/li><li><strong>Eating  unhealthy  foods  compulsively<\/strong>  \u2013  This  is  often  a  reaction  to  being  stressed  (what  we all know  as  \u2018comfort eating\u2019). Not only  do  these  unhealthy  foods  affect your  stress  levels, most  of  the  time  you  will  feel  guilty  afterwards,  sometimes  making  you  feel  worse afterwards  than  you  did  before.<\/li><li><strong>Be aware of  stress  inducing  foods<\/strong>  \u2013  There  is  correlation  between  things  like  sugary  foods, high-saturated  fats  and  white  carbs  (pasta,  bread  etc.)  with  stress  and  anxiety,  generally the  more  of  this  consumed  the  higher  your  stress  levels.  Not  only  this,  but  it  is  not particularly  healthy  which  can  contribute  to  you  feeling guilty  or  unhealthy  in  yourself.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2>Physical Activity <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Being physically active is good for both your physical and mental wellbeing. Being physically active is a good stress reliever, whilst being inactive won\u2019t help you feel any better at all. Some liken physical activity as meditation in motion for its stress relieving benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Being  active  releases  endorphins<\/strong>  \u2013  Being  physically  active  releases  endorphins  which make  you  feel  good.  Any  physical  activity  that  requires  intense  or  prolonged  physical effort will release  endorphins,  which  helps  you  to  feel less  stressed and  more  positive.<\/li><li><strong>Stress  relief<\/strong>  \u2013  By  getting  active  you  will  often  find  you  shed  the  stresses  that  you  carry with  you  during  that  time,  forgetting  about  them  whilst  you\u2019re  active  helps  to  clear  your mind  and  give  better  focus  to  enable  you  to  feel  better  equipped  to  tackle  whatever stresses  you\u2019re  dealing with.<\/li><li><strong>Self-improvement<\/strong>  \u2013  Becoming  more  physically  active  not  only  helps  directly  on  a biological  level  to  deal  with  stresses,  but  the  act  of  making  that  effort  to  be  active  and make  a  change  will  be  energising  in  itself.  By  taking  charge  and  making  a  change  you  will feel  like  you\u2019re  bettering  yourself  and  in  control  of  your  stresses,  not  the  other  way around. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2>More Information <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you would like to view the Webinar on <strong>\u2018The links between nutrition, physical activity and stress\u2019<\/strong> is being delivered live on <strong>Friday 6th November at 12:00pm<\/strong>, please use the following link to register for this session \u2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/attendee.gotowebinar.com\/register\/5027554711865752079\">https:\/\/attendee.gotowebinar.com\/register\/5027554711865752079<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If  you  are  unable  to  join  the  webinar  live,  a  recording  of  the  session  can  be  accessed  using  the same  link  above  after  the  webinar  has  taken  place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If  you  feel  you  may  need  some  support, you  can  contact  Care  first.  Care  first  is  a  leading  provider of  confidential,  professional  counselling,  information  and  advice  services.  All  employees  are eligible  to  use  Care  first,  our  services  include;  telephone  counselling,  information  services  and online  support.  Call  Care  first on  the  Freephone  number  provided  by  your  organisation and   you  can  speak  to  a  professional in  confidence. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Stress, we all have it, some more than others. Most of the time we get stressed about things that we think are out of our control. But what if our stress is being added to by things that are actually &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/healthandwellbeing-news\/2020\/11\/06\/the-links-between-nutrition-physical-activity-and-stress\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68830,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[124],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/healthandwellbeing-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1013"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/healthandwellbeing-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/healthandwellbeing-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/healthandwellbeing-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/68830"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/healthandwellbeing-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1013"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/healthandwellbeing-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1013\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1014,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/healthandwellbeing-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1013\/revisions\/1014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/healthandwellbeing-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/healthandwellbeing-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/healthandwellbeing-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}