Are Snack-Loving Doctoral Students Happier?

Abstract

2019 Global doctoral student (Ph.D.) survey shows a high risk of depression faced by Ph.D. cohort - 36% of PhD students reported seeking help for depression or anxiety, and this percentage was 12% in 2017. Does a Ph.D. require a willingness to give up entertainment, read dry and boring literature, spend years and years in labs and offices, and work hard regardless of time or pay? Some Ph.D. students choose to relieve stress and continue their motivation by eating snacks. This study examined the snack intake behavior of doctoral students and found that snacks have a role in regulating stress. Snacking brings three effects: firstly, it is additional nutritional support, a supplement to or partial replacement of regular meals; secondly, it enhances peer relationships, and peers have a positive role in helping Ph.D. students to reduce academic stress, social isolation, or frustration; finally, it is a quick way to regulate low moods and maintain study motivation, for Carbohydrate-rich foods help the brain to produce the serotonin that makes people happy. Despite potential effects such as obesity, snacking shows more positive effects on Ph.D. students.