How To Get More Done By Taking Time Out To Eat
Over your day you will be under the influence of a number of types of stress, but when stress levels get higher, eating is often done quickly while working or neglected completely to overcome the stressful task at hand. Although eating appears less important when you're trying to get a job done under pressure, the reality is that not taking time to eat a balanced meal is one of the greatest stressors you can put your body under.
Your body's first priority is always to keep you alive, when your blood sugar gets low it is a signal of danger for your body. The majority of the sugar in your blood is used to power your brain so when sugar levels in your blood get to low for your brain to function properly your body must act quickly to keep your brain working. The ideal situation for your body is for you to keep energy levels steady throughout the day and if you forget to eat you will feel hungry prompting you to eat, although during periods of stress the body doesn't always work this way.
When you are stressed by a situation your body switches into its survival mode when in this state your body will suppress all activities not needed for immediate survival, this includes digestion of food so while in a stressed state your appetite is usually suppressed. This survival mode is used to overcome the stress so you can get back to resting as soon as possible, so energy is diverted from other parts of the body to stimulate areas needed for survival like your brain, heart and lungs, this is done with the use of your stress hormones particularly cortisol.
Just as cortisol is released in response to work related stress or physical danger, it is also used during times of potential starvation, to keep up energy supply to your brain. When your body runs out of fuel it can't just stop like your car would, your body keeps you going by using cortisol to stimulate the breakdown of healthy tissue in your muscles, bones and organs to keep you alive. It does this in the hope that soon the stressor would have passed and you can eat food that can be used to replace the energy borrowed in the process.
When we don't give ourselves the opportunity to recover, jumping from one stress to another your body will just continue to breakdown. In an attempt to slow this chronic breakdown, your metabolism will be slowed giving you less available energy drastically reducing both your physical and mental performance. Taking time to relax and eat good regular meals is vital to performing better at work getting more done at a higher quality.
Typical responses when blood sugar gets low include:
- Anxiety/nervousness
- Brain Fog
- Poor concentration
- Jumpy mind
- The inability to think clearly
- Headaches
All these symptoms, which can be easily avoided by eating regular meals, all contribute to poor performance. Often as a when blood sugar gets low in an attempt to keep up energy we reach for stimulants like coffee, soft drinks, high carbohydrate foods like bread, muffins, sweets, and cereals, but these foods elevate blood sugar too quickly and require the body to store it away through the use of the storage hormone insulin, which results in another blood sugar crash and more cravings for a stimulant or more tissue breakdown.
How to avoid it?
- Eat regularly- never allow yourself to feel hungry, never skip meals especially breakfast.
- Eat high quality food- highly refined foods and foods with added sugar are rapidly absorbed into your blood stream and will usually create a blood sugar crash. Eat mostly vegetables high in fibre which help balance blood sugar.
- Eat enough good quality fat and protein in your meal to give you lasting energy for about 4 to 5 hours- Protein and fats help to normalise blood sugar levels as they release the hormone glucagon which opposes insulin, they also require more time to be broken down providing steady energy levels
- Take time to relax and eat- Eating while stressed will not allow you to get the most out of your food as digestion is suppressed during stressful periods. Having a relaxing meal will give your body more nutrients to help you get more done in less time.
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