When we're stressed, it's no coincidence that we have an appetite for sweets..
In order for a person to be able to think with concentration, experiencing stress, the brain needs glucose..
It is simple sugars that supply neurons with energy so that they can send impulses..
Fuel for the brain.
How important it is to get energy, psychologists have shown, constantly testing the participants of the experiment with various tests.
With one of them, the words appear on the screen. The subjects must say as quickly as possible what color they are written in.. This is difficult because, for example, the word "
This experiment requires increased concentration and sufficient energy.. This is reported in a review article by psychologists Matthew Gailliot and Roy Baumeister from Florida State University: who has more glucose in the blood and brain, he reacts faster and makes fewer mistakes..
If you think hard for a while, your glucose levels drop..
As a result, we not only concentrate worse, but also have difficulty resisting temptations.. This was shown by a study in which participants were allowed to drink beer, but not to abuse it too much..
The experimenters were warned that they would then have to complete a driving test.. In the group where the exercises required a lot of concentration, they drank more beer than in the group where the subjects did not have to strain.. In another experiment, participants were given delicious cookies but were forbidden to touch them..
Those who took all their willpower to resist the temptation gave up faster on this nerve test than participants who weren't tested with cookies..
Self control doesn't help..
Outside the laboratory, the same thing happens: the fight against daily stress usually requires a lot of strength, so in other areas it is difficult for a person to control himself. We are drawn to sweets, as the brain consumes glucose when thinking and stress. The body wants to load fuel to get the engine running again..
Ironically, cravings increase when we try to resist cravings for chocolate or brownies.. The reason, as experiments have shown, is that glucose is also consumed to control impulses..
medbe. en.