Rosella Koning
FOODbase Wageningen, The Netherlands

We all know these situations in which we feel rushed. To-do lists are endless, and we have the feeling we’re in a race against the clock: we feel stressed. In literature stress is described as “a condition or feeling experienced when a person perceives that the demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is able to mobilise”. These demands can be related to work, relationships, finances and all other factors that are perceived as a challenge.

Stress is not necessarily a bad thing, as we still use it for survival. Stress is primarily a physical response; the body feels it is under attack and goes into fight or flight mode. Series of hormones and chemicals are released (like adrenaline, cortisol and nor-epinephrine) that prepare the body for physical action. More blood flows to the muscles, the heart rate increases, breathing goes faster, less blood flows to the digestive tract: we become fully prepared for action. This is helpful when immediate action is necessary, but it becomes uncomfortable when it happens regularly and affects our day to day functioning. Experiencing a stressed state on a constant level can be detrimental to our health. It ca ...