It's a stressful political time right now in the U.S.
Democrats especially are anxiously awaiting the 2018 midterms on Tuesday, hoping to take back at least one chamber of Congress from Republicans.
A new poll on Friday showed Democrats have channeled a portion of that anxious energy into, well, bigger portions on their plates. In other words, they're eating their feelings.
Fitness site Daily Burn had YouGov conduct a poll, and Democrats were 50 percent more likely to say they're "eating their feelings" than Republicans. But, Democrats were also 40 percent more likely to say they're working out more. The poll found that both parties described doing lighter, less intense training like walking, hiking and aerobics.
"Exercise is critical in helping people deal with outside stress, whether it's from work, personal life, or politics," said Tricia Han, CEO of Daily Burn, in a statement. "We wanted to get a sense for how these stressors are affecting exercise and other behavioral habits across party lines. While it's surprising to see that across both aisles lower intensity exercises were more likely, no matter what the exercise is—[high-intensity interval training], yoga, biking, etc.—pumping those endorphins is always a good idea."
Eating your feelings or, for some folks, exercising to work through anxiousness, is a pretty common tactic people rely on when dealing with stress (for better or worse).
"Depending on how you're used to dealing with stress, people tend to gravitate toward that habit more," Dr. Navya Mysore, a primary care doctor told NBC News. "If you had a hard day, you'll have a glass of wine, so maybe you're doing that more. Same for people who are stress eaters—they'll eat more. If you're more prone to sweat it out when stressed, then you'll do that more."
With the election days away, it's looking likely that both parties could have something to celebrate. FiveThirtyEight's latest projections gave Democrats an about 85 percent chance of taking back the House, while Republicans had about an 85 percent chance of holding on to the Senate.
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