Events that are stressful demand a lot of energy since our bodies tend to use it in many ways to combat stress. Prior to the pandemic, I frequently felt the stress of wanting to win during my basketball games, which caused my heart rate to increase and my oxygen intake to be higher than usual. Additionally, some of my games take place in the morning, which is why occasionally I forget to eat. Be that as it may, I still manage to play despite having an empty stomach.
After learning about the endocrine system, I realized that the fight-or-flight (or fight-flight-freeze) response, aka the “alarm” stage of the stress response plays a huge role in my games and that is because Cortisols (more commonly known as the stress hormones) signals the Adrenal Medulla produces a chemical response called Epinephrine (adrenaline) which allows for bronchioles in the lung to expand allowing for better oxygen intake, heart beats faster causing high pulse rate and blood pressure which gives the muscle and brain more blood intake to function. Furthermore, the liver expands and produces more glucose from stored glycogen, the adipose tissue increases lipolysis, and causes the pancreas to decrease insulin levels and increase the glucagon, allowing it to release a lot of energy. These activities give the body energy it needs to stay alert for a period of time.
When our body uses all of its energy, we feel exhausted and sleepy, and sometimes we consume food to regain energy (stress eating) which is why after games, I go straight to the nearest korean store to buy banana milk and mochi because when we are stressed, we crave for sugary, salty, or fatty foods.
Source: Snider, L. (2022). The Endocrine System: The Adrenal Glands and the Stress Response. Visiblebody.com. https://www.visiblebody.com/blog/the-endocrine-system-the-adrenal-glands-and-the-stress-response