Does eating sweets help reduce stress?

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After a tiring and stressful day of studying or working, do you eat sweets to relieve stress? Can sweets really help reduce stress and be good for your health?
Video content is professionally consulted by MSc. Dang Thi Thanh Tung, Psychologist, Vinmec Times City International General Hospital

1. Potentially many health effects with sweet food

According to many studies, sweets can help improve mood, support effective stress reduction. Because the hormone that leads to stress, glucocorticoid, will decrease when people eat sweets such as cake, suck on some candy.
However, eating sweets is only a temporary support method and is not a substitute for supportive treatment methods, if you are often stressed and show severe symptoms.
Sweets have a strong relationship with weight, immune functions of the body and depression.
Sweets increase the risk of psychological disease: Excessive consumption of sweets causes an imbalance in certain brain chemicals. This imbalance can lead to depression and may even increase the long-term risk of developing a mental health disorder in some people.
Mood-affecting sweets: Sweets inhibited stress-induced cortisol secretion in healthy female participants, minimizing feelings of anxiety and stress. Cortisol is known as the stress hormone. However, sweets that provide temporary relief can make you more dependent on sugar, and increase your risk of obesity and related diseases.
Stop consuming sugar can affect mood: a person who regularly consumes sweets, if stopped immediately, can cause some side effects such as irritability, anxiety, confusion, body fatigue, depression ,... The withdrawal of sugar and sweets can also appear the same symptoms as withdrawal from other stimulants.

2. What should be done to reduce stress?

Ways to reduce stress that you can refer to such as:
Practicing yoga: This is a way to make your body more supple, healthy, maintain a balanced physique and also help you reduce stress, dispel all sadness tired, tired. Get enough sleep: A good night's sleep not only helps the body regenerate energy for better physical activity, but it is also an opportunity for your spirit to rest and eliminate stress. Lack of sleep is also a cause of stress and conversely, people who are stressed are also prone to lack of sleep. It's like a vicious cycle that makes you tired all the time. Therefore, try to maintain enough sleep to protect your health. Communicate more: When you talk more with people, your problems will be solved, help you analyze and eliminate negative thoughts, anxiety, stress will gradually disappear. Increase exercise: When thoughts make you too tired, you should be physically active. This is an effective way to reduce stress by releasing Cortisol from the adrenal gland, limiting the negative effects of stress. Practice meditation: Practicing meditation helps you reduce stress, can reduce pain and think more positively, preventing relapse of depression. Laugh more: watch comedies to laugh more, increase feelings of euphoria, reduce stress and even stimulate the release of pain-relieving endorphins. Think Positive: Psychologists recommend learning how to live a more positive, happy, optimistic and open life. That makes it easier for you to find the right solution for your problem. At the same time, positive thinking helps increase the happiness hormone. Massage: is a very effective way to reduce stress. Massage not only helps you relax your muscles but also has a positive effect on hormone levels in the body. Your spirit is also much more positive, pleasant and relaxed. Emotional activities: A warm hug, a soft touch or breastfeeding activity in a woman, or even playing with a pet,... will help produce Oxytocin - a type Hormones can reduce stress levels. Journaling: is a way to help you dispel fatigue and stress through better control and analysis of situations, and better ways to handle them. By rereading your diary, you can also stop negative thoughts in time. Stress is a problem many people face. Hopefully, through this video, you can understand more about the harmful effects of stress on your health and choose effective ways to reduce stress that are right for you.

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