Why stress makes you hungry
As a new study reveals that comfort eating when we’re anxious can make us crave sweet food, a nutritionist explains how to break the cycle and silence the food noise
We eat sugary foods to celebrate good times, for a quick boost of energy or simply for a treat. But there is a negative emotion that may be driving some of us to consume sugary foods – stress.
Read more about stress, how it affects weight gain and tips for managing anxiety. Next read what is intuitive eating?
High-sugar treats such as chocolate, biscuits and cakes provide a welcome distraction from our cares and worries. However, according to Australian scientists, eating high-calorie comfort food when you’re under duress could be creating changes in your brain that make you eat more – which means an even sweeter sweet tooth than before!
One study found that mice, when stressed, didn’t feel full and continued to eat. “We showed that chronic stress, combined with a high-calorie diet, drives more food intake as well as a preference for sweet foods, thereby promoting weight gain” says Professor Herbert Herzog. This revealed that stress can override a natural brain response that diminishes the pleasure from eating, resulting in the brain being continuously rewarded the more and more we eat. So why is stress, sugar and comfort eating so intertwined? Nutritionist Jenna Hope explains all.
Why do we crave sugar when we’re stressed?
“When we eat high-fat and high-sugar foods, such as chocolate, it provides what’s known as a ‘hedonic’ effect,” she says. “This means that we feel good on these foods and rewarded by them, as a result while we’re eating these foods we’re not secreting as much of the stress hormone cortisol, so we feel calmer and the reward pathways in our brain are simulated making us feel good.”
Why do we tend to overeat when we’re comfort eating?
“When we’re stress-eating it’s harder to control the amount of food that we’re consuming. In a stressed state you’re likely to eat more and faster, and you’ll find yourself eating a biscuit, and then another one, and so on,” she explains. “The brain is saying ‘that feels good, I didn’t feel stressed while eating that’. The chances are that once you’ve stopped eating, you’ll feel stressed again and crave more sugar and more fat. The brain is telling you that is what made me feel calm before, let’s try that again."
In this way highly palatable foods are stimulating the reward pathways in the brain, making us want to eat more and promoting the compulsive behaviour involved in emotional over-eating.
Are there other ways that stress can make us hungry?
“Stress can have a negative impact on sleep, which, in turn, boosts appetite even more,” says Jenna. “If someone is going through a period of chronic stress, that impacts their sleep, the hunger hormone ghrelin increases, and they’ll feel hungrier. At the same time, leptin, the hormone that tells you when you’re full, decreases, so you need more food to get to the same level of fullness that you’d feel after a normal night’s sleep.”
How do you break the cycle of comfort eating?
“You can’t just tell yourself not to comfort eat. You need to first remind yourself of the physical signs of real, as opposed to emotional hunger – physical hunger comes on gradually, it usually starts with signs, like a rumbling tummy and a sense of emptiness. Next identify and log your eating triggers. A food diary or nutrition app can be helpful here – record the time of day, how you were feeling, what else was happening at the time and what you chose to eat and how much. Once you’ve created a picture of your comfort-eating triggers, look into activities that may help to distract and even relax you, this may serve to lower levels of the stress hormone, cortisol.
Behaviour modification that relieves stress which may be as simple as sitting with a cup of tea, going for a walk or doing five to 10 minutes of meditation, may help alleviate stress-eating. But it is worth saying that what works for you is likely to be highly personal.” she says.
Tips to manage stress eating
- Check in with yourself – before responding to your ‘hunger’ cue check is it real, physical hunger or emotional hunger due to stress?
- Identify the high-risk point in your day – studies suggest that for many of us this is the afternoon and evening. If this sounds familiar plan ahead and have healthier, prepared snacks to hand.
- Find healthier options – if you crave sweet foods, slice up a sweet tasting apple (sweet varieties include Pink Lady or Jazz), and enjoy with nut butter or cottage cheese. If savoury is your thing, top oatcakes with hummus, marmite or cream cheese.
- Portion up – instead of having access to a whole pack, portion snacks up in Tupperware boxes to help manage your intake.
Find more helpful tips to manage stress eating
Enjoyed this? Now read...
What is stress and how to reduce it
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10 ways to reduce your portion size that won’t leave you hungry
10 ways to manage your appetite
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This page was reviewed on 26th March 2025 by Kerry Torrens.
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