Winter break is practically here, which means most students who aren’t travelling will be staying home all day, stuffing themselves with every sweet treat they can find, down to the last crumb, convincing themselves it’s okay because it’s Christmas. However, doing this over a two-week period will come with not only the effects of physical consequences but mental ones as well.

Before you can understand how sugar affects your academic performance, you must know that eating one piece of candy can lead to eating twenty for a reason. Sugar has a way of “hijacking your brain”, meaning after consuming a small amount, your taste buds send a message to the brain which leads to you craving another piece of candy. This is also the most contributing factor to why the average American consumes five times more sugar than recommended. Understanding this vicious cycle of intense cravings can help you gain some self-control the next time you see that jumbo size pack of M&M’s.

The first and most common effect sugar has is harming your memory and learning skills. A group of researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) conducted a study on rats where they discovered that rats who consumed more sugar than their body could take had a much slower thinking process, and the communication among their brain cells was impaired. The next effect is surprisingly depression and anxiety. After consuming a lot of sugar, the increase in your blood sugar levels causes you to experience mood swings, irritability, and fatigue. And when your blood sugar levels dip back down, you may experience anxiety or depression, this is why it’s called a sugar “crash”.

Another great factor as to why Americans consume so much sugar is because most don’t even realize they are. When you think sugar you automatically think chocolate or ice cream. But did you know that one cup of Nestle Nesquik chocolate milk contains 11 grams of sugar? That’s outrageously sugary, and most of the consumers are children who drink the milk every morning for breakfast.

Overall, don’t make yourself miserable by resorting to not eating candy at all, but maybe limit yourself to one or two pieces a day. This will prevent you from experiencing any sort of mood swing or anxiety from a sugar crash, and won’t slow down your thinking process and memory. Also, know what you’re putting in your body. Take a look at the back of every product you buy to prevent yourself from buying something with enough sugar to fill the entire candy aisle at Walmart.