Your health: Does stress = overeating?

Stressful overeating?

It's been another hectic day. On impulse, you grab an extra-large candy bar during your afternoon break. You plan to take just a few bites. But before you know it, you've polished off the whole thing — and, at least temporarily, you may feel better.

Rest assured you're not alone. Stress, the hormones it unleashes, and the effects of high-fat, sugary “comfort foods” push people toward overeating, according to the Harvard Medical School.

In the short term, stress can shut down appetite. The part of the brain called the hypothalamus releases a corticotropin-releasing hormone, which suppresses appetite. The brain also sends messages to the adrenal glands atop the kidneys to pump out the hormone epinephrine. Epinephrine helps trigger a revved-up physiological state that temporarily puts eating on hold.

But if stress persists, it's a different story. The adrenal glands release another hormone called cortisol, and cortisol increases appetite and may also ramp up motivation in general, including the motivation to eat.

Once a stressful episode is over, cortisol levels should fall, but if the stress doesn't go away — or if a person's stress response gets stuck in the “on” position — cortisol may stay elevated.

There are steps you can take to relieve the stress in your life. Here are three suggestions:

Meditate: Countless studies show that meditation reduces stress, although much of the research has focused on high blood pressure and heart disease.

Exercise more: Intense exercise increases cortisol levels temporarily, but low-intensity exercise seems to reduce them.

Visit with friends: Social support seems to have a buffering effect on the stress people experience. For example, researchers have found that the mental health of people working in stressful situations, such as hospital emergency rooms, is better if they have a support system.

Old drug disposal

If you have old drugs in your medicine cabinet and want to get rid of them, here's what the Food and Drug Administration says you should do — and not do, according to The Washington Post.

First, drugs should not be flushed down the toilet. “They may get in the water supply or get into a stream and affect marine life,” University of Maryland pharmacist Frank Palumbo said.

If disposal directions are not printed on the label, the FDA suggests that drugs be taken out of their containers, placed in a bag and mixed with dirt, coffee grounds or kitty litter to make them unusable.