Stress eating, emotional eating, boredom eatingare these all the same?
You don’t feel physically hungry, but eating ice cream is comforting.
This is referred to asemotional eatingorstress eating.
Photo: GETTY / AJ_Watt
These terms are often used interchangeably, and both refer to turning to food to cope with emotions.
This is in contrast to wandering into the kitchen because you are bored and grabbing some snacks.
That’sboredom eating.Studiesclassify boredom as feeling that your current situation lacks purpose.
You feel restless, dissatisfied or unchallenged with what you’re doing.
Mindless eating refers to eating without awareness of what you’re consuming or where you’re consuming it.
Finally, you might eat because you’re craving something specific.
You may want some chocolate even though you aren’t feeling physically hungry, stressed or bored.
There are many different reasons we eat:
None of these is wrong.
The most important thing is to stop and ask yourself, “Why am I eating right now?
“and then decide the best course of action depending on that answer.
Why do we eat when stressed or bored?
Biology and environment both play a role.
“At the surface, stress eating and eating when you’re bored appear very similar.
They are both reactions to our environment but the main difference is how they affect your body.
When you’re stressed your body releases large amounts of the hormone cortisol.”
says Katie Oetken RD, LD, M.P.H., a registered dietitian at Nutrition in Motion.
Cortisol increases appetite and can lead to weight gain.
Stress also raises ghrelin, the “hunger hormone,” which stimulates appetite too.
“An important strategy to help manage stress and boredom eating is to verify you prioritize sleep.
“Only you might tell the difference between when you’re stress eating or eating out of boredom.
Beating yourself up about it only adds to the stressful emotions!”
“That being said, don’t let eating become youronlyway of coping with emotions,” says Bell.
Try out these tips.
This strategy works whether you’re stressed or bored.
“Pick two things to accomplish, then reassess if you oughta eat.
In contrast, store healthy foods in see-through containers.
This combo keeps hunger and satiety hormones working properly and keeps you full for several hours.
Sleep seven to eight hours each night to avoid cravings the next day.
The Bottom Line
We eat for different reasonsstress, boredom, physical hunger and cravings.
Before you put food in your mouth, stop and ask why you’re eating.
