Stress Eating: Why Your Brain Craves Comfort Under Pressure

It’s not the big moments of stress that derail healthy eating- it’s the everyday pressures: the late meetings, the childcare juggle, the relentless decision-making. Many adults find themselves reaching for snacks not out of hunger, but out of overwhelm. And there’s a scientific reason why.

What’s Going On?

Stress-related eating has become increasingly common, with over half of UK adults reporting they eat more -or less intentionally- during stressful periods (BDA, 2023). This isn’t about willpower. Modern stress disrupts appetite-regulation systems while increasing cravings for high-fat, high-sugar foods.

This pattern, known as emotional or stress-induced eating, is strongly linked to sleep disruption, cognitive overload and chronic activation of the HPA axis.

Why Is This Happening?

Cortisol deeply influences appetite. During acute stress, adrenaline suppresses hunger, but as stress becomes chronic, cortisol encourages energy replenishment, particularly through calorie-dense foods (Adam & Epel, 2007). These foods temporarily dampen the brain’s stress response by increasing dopamine, creating a short-lived sense of relief.

At the same time, stress impairs the prefrontal regions responsible for self-regulation and planning (Arnsten, 2009). This makes long-term intentions less accessible, favouring immediate comfort.

Psychologically, stress reduces cognitive bandwidth. Decision fatigue makes healthier choices feel harder, and emotional exhaustion lowers motivation. Sleep loss further disrupts appetite hormones, decreasing leptin, increasing ghrelin, and intensifies cravings (Spiegel et al., 2004).

Stress eating is therefore a neurobiological coping strategy - not a character flaw.

What Can We Do About It?

• One of the most effective steps is reducing physiological arousal before eating. Engaging the parasympathetic system, through slow breathing, a short pause, or grounding practices, helps shift the body out of stress mode and back into digestive readiness.
• Creating “structured indulgence”- planned, guilt-free moments of enjoying preferred foods - reduces impulsive overeating and increases satisfaction (Schaumberg et al., 2016). This approach protects autonomy and prevents the restrictive-rebound cycle.
• Improving sleep quality is another powerful tool. Research shows that restoring even one hour of additional sleep significantly reduces stress-driven snacking and craving intensity (Greer et al., 2013).
• Finally, building a supportive food environment removes unnecessary decision-making. When stress rises, people default to what’s easiest. Making the “easy choice” the healthier one, pre-prepped snacks, accessible proteins, hydration, reshapes behaviour without relying on willpower.

Stress eating doesn’t disappear by force; it changes when physiology, environment and emotions shift toward safety.

References:

Adam, T. C., & Epel, E. S. (2007). Stress, eating and reward. Physiology & Behaviour, 91(4), 449-458.

Arnsten, A. F. T. (2009). Stress signalling and prefrontal cortex function. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 10, 410–422.

BDA. (2023). Food and mood report. https://www.bda.uk.com

Greer, S. M., Goldstein, A. N., & Walker, M. P. (2013). The impact of sleep deprivation on food desire in the human brain. Nature Communications, 4, 2259

Schaumberg, K., Anderson, D. A., Anderson, L. M., Reilly, E. E., & Gorrell, S. (2016). Dietary restraint: What’s the harm? A review of the relationship between dietary restraint, weight trajectory and the development of eating pathology. Clinical Obesity, 6(2), 89-100

Spiegel, K., Tasali, E., Penev, P., & Van Cauter, E. (2004). Sleep curtailment in healthy young men is associated with decreased leptin levels, elevated ghrelin levels, and increased hunger and appetite. Annals of Internal Medicine, 141(11), 846-850.