Stress has a powerful effect on the appetite. But does eating reduce stress? Not a chance. What you’ve eaten during self-quarantine and sheltering in place during the COVID-19 pandemic can help you cope better or make your stress worse.

Research shows that stress alters overall food intake, resulting in either under- or overeating, which may be influenced by stressor severity. Chronic life stress seems to be associated with a greater preference for energy- and nutrient-dense foods, namely those that are high in sugar and fat. A Yale University study found that under threat, even insects like grasshoppers—which normally feed on protein such as grasses—switch to gorging on sugary goldenrod plants. The sugary foods provide fuel to quickly feed their amped-up bodies in cases of fight or flight. These insects, like humans, often feed stress instead of managing it.

Wonder, then, why we craved pizza, potato chips, and chocolate during the coronavirus quarantine? When we’re worried or frightened, we’re more likely to seek out sugars, fats, and carbs for a quick energy boost. These comfort foods act like a natural tranquilizer that calms us down in times of peril.

But what feels like a satisfying solution in the short term grows into a bigger problem in the long run. Comfort eating traps us in a hard-to-break eating cycle that adds to stress levels, resulting in serious health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity, as well as emotional problems, such as depression and anxiety.

During stress, the brain acts as an internal slingshot, pumping a cocktail of stress hormones into our bloodstream. We stew in its cortisol and adrenaline juices. And glucose—natural body sugars that are released from the liver and muscles—spikes to give us energy, readying us for action.

Research shows that glucose must be replenished after a stressor has passed. So, the more glucose we release in reaction to stress, the hungrier we’ll be after the stressor. That jacks up our craving for sweets and fat to replace the much-needed cortisol. A large amount of cortisol makes us crave foods high in fat, sugar, and salt—a craving that results in stress eating. And boom! The fats and sugars we eat go straight to our bellies, storing fat, causing further damage to the body, and throwing us into a chicken-and-egg cycle.

It’s time to break that cycle!

Sweat out your stress in HOTWORX at Planet Beach! Planet Beach spray & spa locations offer an array of services and products that can aid in the weight loss process and reduce stress & anxiety including our patented sauna, HOTWORX! HOTWORX, the first ever fusion of infrared heat and isometrics, is a virtually instructed exercise program designed for users to experience the many benefits of infrared absorption, while completing a 30-minute workout session. As the original Authorized HOTWORX Location, Planet Beach is proud to offer its members the opportunity to achieve their fitness goals!

HOTWORX can help improve strength, cardio, flexibility, circulation, immunity, while also burning fat, decreasing workout recovery time, increasing metabolism, and much more! As the infrared heat penetrates your body causing you to sweat, the isometric postures further accelerate detoxification by physically removing the toxins from your organs through muscle contraction. The results our users achieve make HOTWORX one of the most efficient 30-minute workout programs in the fitness and beauty industry today.

Find a Planet Beach location near you by clicking HERE and come sweat out your stress and burn off that “Quarantine 15!”

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Written By: Paige Stuart, Planet Beach Brand Manager & Franchisee