Healthy Eating and Stress

Overview

You may not feel like you have the time or energy to think about healthy eating when you are experiencing stress. But healthy eating is a way to take care of yourself. These tips focus on easy things you can do.

• Make time to eat.

  Try not to skip meals. Coping with stress can be harder if you're very hungry. It may help to plan ahead for when you will take breaks to eat during the day.

• Keep healthy snacks with you.

  Take healthy snacks with you when you're away from home so that you're prepared when you get hungry. Some ideas include fruit, nuts, and whole-grain crackers.

• Find healthy ways to relieve stress.

  Some people turn to food to comfort themselves when they're under stress. This may not be a problem if it only happens once in a while. But it can be unhealthy if it becomes your main way to cope with stress. If this is a problem for you, try to replace eating with other actions that relieve stress, such as taking a walk, playing with a pet, or taking a bath.