How to Curb Your Study Munchies

By Danika

Do you ever find yourself repeatedly wandering into the kitchen to look at the fridge or cupboard contents because you’re bored with studying and want to snack?

Guilty!

When I’m staring at my notes all day trying to study for final exams, I often get the urge to snack — especially if I’m at home with easy access to the fridge and pantry. While it’s important to eat regular meals to fuel your brain, feelings of boredom or stress may cause us to turn to food when we’re not actually hungry, resulting in a study snack attack. While breaking open a bag of chips to munch on may help satisfy your craving, junk foods are not ideal for fueling a long study sesh, making it harder to be productive (and potentially resulting in undesired weight gain). Instead of cramming chips into your mouth while you cram lecture notes into your brain, try out these tips to curb your study munchies:

Walk away from it — literally

Go for a short walk outside: the fresh air (or chilly spring breeze) is not only a good way to refresh your focus, but it may also reduce your snack cravings. There are some studies that have found a ten to fifteen minute walk helps reduce food cravings (especially for chocolate)!

Bottoms up!

Thirst is sometimes mistaken for hunger, so make sure you stay hydrated with water or tea. I’ve found that sipping on tea is one of the most effective ways to distract myself from snacking! My top picks are green tea, lemongrass ginger, or Bengal Spice for a full flavour experience without the need for cream or sugar.

Be a smart cookie — without eating one

If you find you are a bit hungry, eat a crunchy healthy snack. Although it may feel like the last thing you’d want to eat, the crunchiness of raw vegetables can be surprisingly satisfying once you get over the mental game of picking up a veggie when you’d rather eat chips. Some examples include crispy vegetables like celery, carrots, sugar snap peas, bell peppers, and cucumbers, or crunchy fruit like an apple.

Another crunchy option is air popped popcorn or light microwave popcorn — did you know that popcorn is a whole grain?? (That doesn’t justify movie theatre popcorn drenched in butter and salt though)! Other snacks that bring the crunch factor are dry roasted edamame (a high protein soybean snack), dried seaweed, whole grain crackers with hummus, and any assorted nuts and seeds — but the trick here is to portion out a small amount because nuts really pack an energy punch.

Study with a side of brain freeze

Eat frozen grapes — this may sound really odd but hear me out! They seem to taste sweeter when frozen, and you can only eat so many at a time before your mouth gets too cold, so it forces you to slow down with the snacking. Bonus: if you have grapes that are going mushy, freezing them reduces food waste and gives you a study snack for later!

Chew on THIS

Chewing gum is another one of my favourite methods, as it’s simple and effective. Pop some long-lasting sugar-free gum and chew on your practice questions, distraction-free.

Clean your grill

If nothing else is working and the snack attack is really interfering with your ability to study, brush your teeth — would you really coat your teeth with sugary candies right after making them squeaky clean?? Plus, stuff tends to taste kind of funny after using that minty fresh toothpaste.

Spice things up

If you just can’t stand being near your pantry all day, pack some healthy snacks and go study somewhere on campus where you have less temptations — snacks are likely less accessible and cost money! With the change in scenery, you can eat the vegetables you packed and save your change. Stay cool as a cucumber as you eat one!

Next time you find yourself in a pickle with a snack attack sneaking up on you, try out some of these tips to help you focus on the bigger fish to fry (studying that whole semester’s worth of material). I hope these tips help make studying for final exams a real piece of cake — figuratively speaking of course!

Danika Kunimoto

Danika is a fourth year Nutrition and Food Science student at the U of A who loves seeking out all of the good things happening on campus and in the city. She’s a big fan of dance, plants, and alpacas, with a love for food, photography, and friendships.