Gao Qiqiang chews coffee dry, Lao Mo shows off his lollipops, are these "ruthless" stress-relieving methods really effective?

The recent hit drama "Kuang Biao" is really getting more and more popular. Along with the popularity of the drama, the famous acting skills of the lead actor Zhang Songwen are also soaring. He plays Gao Qiqiang in the drama, a very eye-catching leader of the underworld. The plot in the drama where he relieves his nervousness by chewing coffee and eating lollipops also impressed the audience, and even received a verdict from netizens: "I chew coffee without sugar, I am Gao Qiqiang, a construction worker."

The picture is taken from the TV series "Kuangchuan"

In the play, Gao Qiqiang chews coffee and eats lollipops to relieve stress. So, from a psychological perspective, can daily habits such as chewing coffee really adjust your mood? In addition, what other "little actions" in life can help us quickly regain our state and face danger bravely? This article tells you the answer.

01

Coffee chewing can relieve stress

Because of the "crisp feeling"

Research shows that about 45% of diners will be affected by the taste of food, and 68% of people think that the taste will bring a more pleasant food experience. Although dry chewing coffee is "hardcore", it can bring the hard and crisp feeling that humans like.

From the perspective of evolutionary psychology, crispy food means freshness. For example, the crisper the apples, carrots, and lettuce, the fresher they are. Therefore, any eating behavior that gives you a sense of crispness will make your brain feel happy and create a pleasant inner experience. At the same time, another reason why eating behaviors such as "dry chewing coffee" can relieve stress is sound. When we bite crispy food, the vibrations generated by chewing teeth will be transmitted to our ears, so we will hear and feel the sound of the food being crispy. A study by Oxford University found that the louder the echo of the food that humans hear when they eat, the more delicious it will taste. This is because crispy food not only stimulates the sense of taste and smell, but also the sense of hearing. Even if a food itself does not taste good, its crispness can make people feel happy.

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The chewing action of the mouth can not only bring happiness, but also improve cognitive function. Studies have shown that chewing can shorten the reaction time of the human brain by nearly 10%, because chewing stimulates the prefrontal cortex and the right hippocampus, making the areas that control movement and attention active, so it can instantly improve attention and memory. In "The Storm", Gao Qiqiang often needs to keep his mind clear, so the habit of chewing coffee is also a self-adjustment behavior that keeps his brain function online at all times. Of course, there are more behaviors in life that can bring crispness and promote chewing than just chewing coffee. When we face stress and challenges, tasting fresh fruit, occasionally eating some potato chips, or eating melon seeds can have similar effects to chewing coffee.

Of course, Gao Qiqiang in "The Storm" is a very tactful villain with some cold and aggressive elements in his character. His pursuit of the bitter taste of dry chewing coffee also has a certain psychological basis. Psychological research at the University of Vienna in Austria shows that people who like bitter food are more likely to have antisocial tendencies, and "coldness" and "unwillingness to be manipulated" are their prominent characteristics. People who like bitterness are very likely to deliberately endure hardships and wake themselves up, which is quite consistent with the character setting of Gao Qiqiang in the play.

02

Eating lollipops brings happiness

Can also lead to aggressive behavior

In addition to chewing coffee, the image of Murphy holding a lollipop in his mouth in "The Rush" is also deeply rooted in people's hearts. From a scientific point of view, eating sugar occasionally can indeed relieve stress, and sugar can release "opioid active peptides" in the brain.

The picture is taken from the TV series "Kuangchuan"

It is human instinct to like sweet food. According to the explanation of evolutionary psychology, in ancient times, food was scarce, and sweet things often contained more calories. Eating enough calories is necessary to survive. Through natural selection, the genes of those who like sweets have been passed down, and those who don't like sweets have been eliminated. In other words, we are all descendants of ancestors who like sweets.

It is worth mentioning that although eating sugar occasionally brings happiness, frequent sugar intake can lead to aggressive behavior. Dr. Richard Johnson of the National Institutes of Health outlined some evidence that fructose can trigger a "foraging response" similar to that seen when people are hungry by reducing energy in cells. The "foraging response" can stimulate risk-taking and impulsive behavior, promoting humans to seek novel things and make quick decisions to ensure the food they need for survival. Excessive consumption of sugar can cause this response to be overactivated, leading to impulsive behavior.

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It can be seen that in "Rampage", Old Mo likes to eat lollipops not only to adjust his mood, but also to keep himself wild and aggressive.

03

What are some other simple

Tips for stress relief in life

Learning a little psychology can make it easier for you to be happy. In addition to the crispy feeling and eating sweets in moderation, there are many tips to help you adjust your mentality and gain pleasure. For example, running for just 10 minutes can make you mentally healthier. The researchers used the Stroop Color-Word Test (for example, the color of the word "red" is green, and participants must choose the color instead of reading the word. To do this, the brain must process two sets of information and inhibit irrelevant information) and measured the local blood flow in different parts of the bilateral prefrontal cortex of the two groups of subjects.

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The results showed that just 10 minutes of moderate-intensity running improved their mood and cognitive ability. At the same time, we often observe that many people like to "swear" when facing stress. Studies have shown that appropriate swearing can indeed relieve anxiety. A study published in the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology showed that swearing can improve people's strength and physical fitness.

Researchers from Keele University in the UK measured people's grip strength, arm support ability and willingness to take risks after repeating "dirty words" and neutral words. The results showed that compared with people who said neutral words, people who said dirty words had an average grip strength increase of 2.49 kg, could maintain the parallel bar support action for 10% longer, and had a significant increase in willingness to take risks. So, when you can't hold it anymore, you might as well "speak sweet words", but be aware that speaking sweet words can only be used as self-regulation and should not develop into personal attacks on others.

In the series "The Storm", whether it is Gao Qiqiang or Lao Mo, their "pressure" comes from ignoring the law and taking risks. In this sense, whether it is chewing coffee, eating lollipops, or doing any other decompression actions, they can't really get "release". Being an honest person, working diligently, and making those "pressures" disappear fundamentally, for them, this is the real "way to relieve stress".

Author: Tang Yicheng, Deputy Director of Beijing China Science and Technology Mental Health Promotion Center

Review | Fan Chunlei, Associate Researcher, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

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