Stress response causes the body to become alert which is not what you want you want when you are trying to sleep.

Then the fact that you can't sleep becomes an added stress on the body - a vicious cycle!

Sleep is needed to rest, rejuvenate and detoxify the brain.

Your wind down / bedtime routine may be more important than you realise...

Being stressed takes alot of energy - Digestion usually takes 10-20% of your daily energy.

When stressed, the digestive system is slowed down to conserve energy which can therefore causes digestive issues and lack of nutrient absorption

Keeping your defence up again illness and infection also uses energy but like the digestive system, if you are constantly stressed, this takes energy away from your immune system making it less able to fight for you.

70% of your immunity is housed in your gut so getting colds all the time & being constipated could both be being caused by stress.

Stress can suppress your appetite due to adrenaline being released as a result of the fight or flight response (shutting down the digestive system that we talked about)

But then...... when you finally find the time to relax, your body tries to recover and replenish its energy stores from sugary foods... and voila... those cravings for sugary foods!

Stress can however go the opposite way and make you want to eat everything in sight... this is thanks to a little thing called cortisol.