University is a stressful place – hectic timetables full of lectures and tutorials, with subjects full of homework, assignments and exams. It’s no wonder we’re a stressed-out bunch. As our free time is sucked up by all the evils our uni subjects have to inflict, we tend to turn towards the one thing that will always make us feel better – junk food.

Our Semester Survival Pack is usually filled with foods we know are bad for us, but they make us feel so good, don’t they? Stress-eating just isn’t any fun without junk food.

Below are the top 5 foods we poor suffering uni students gobble up to survive the torture inflicted on us by uni:

1) Chocolate
Chocolate is the top food consumed by most of us stress-eating students. And it’s no wonder – chocolate stimulates our brain to release endorphins (the “feel good” chemical). So, not only does the sugar in the chocolate give us the energy to power through those assignments and exams, but also it actually really does make us feel better. Take it from a psychology student – chocolate is good for your brain :P

2) Chips
Studies have linked eating the crunchy, salty yumminess that are chips to boredom. And it makes absolute sense – the feeling of the crunch in your mouth and the salt can be a highly-effective distractor from the boredom of studying for exams. Potato chips have also topped some researchers’ lists of comfort foods.

3) Cookies
What can beat that wonderful aroma and taste of a good cookie? Not even the texture can be beaten. The perfect cookie – with the just the right amount of crispiness and chewiness – is nothing short of a miracle when you’re struggling to remember…well…everything!

4) Ice-cream
Researchers have found that high-fat foods, like ice-cream, may activate certain chemicals in the brain that create a sense of fulfilment and contentment. Who doesn’t like that when they’re stressed?

5) Maccas
There’s a reason “Macca’s run” is an ancient Aussie proverb – and it’s because of uni students

Comfort foods get us through semester and even though we regret eating them as soon as semester is over, how else will we cope with the torture, if not through highly sugary and fatty junk foods?

They’re called comfort foods for a reason.

Excuse me while I go and get chocolate. Writing this article was stressful.