“Why Do I Eat When I’m Bored? ” | Nutritionist Answers This Age-Old Question

Ever felt slightly bored and all of a sudden you get a hunger pang, make your way to your kitchen and start feasting away on a food source that is likely to be high in sugar, salt, and fat? This is what’s known as boredom eating, but don’t worry, you’re not alone.  

What is boredom eating? 

Eating when you’re bored is a major player in emotional eating and is one of the most common triggers that can also lead to binge eating.1 Boredom eating is an urgent and overwhelming feeling that often kicks in a craving for a certain type of food. 

When you’re physically hungry (hunger from your stomach), you usually don’t crave a particular food. Instead, a wide range of products could satisfy you, and physical hunger solved by having a small amount of food and moving on.  

Emotional eating doesn’t quite “hit the spot” and cause the same satisfaction. As opposed to feeling hunger from your stomach, emotional hunger triggers your brain to open the cookie jar, and munch away — often with a lack of awareness. This leads to over eating, not knowing why you ate, and sometimes you don’t even remember what you ate in the first place.  

Studies have shown that boredom is a very common reason to eat. Research has found people who are often bored eat more food in general, and have an increased desire to eat less healthy snacks after or during a meaningless task.2 

So, why do you eat when you’re bored? 

When you’re bored, situations receive low attention due to lack of interest or stimulation coming from your immediate environment.3  The excitement or stimulation of certain foods may help to distract people’s attention from the boredom. So, to put it in simple terms, food basically distracts you from whatever boring situation you’re in. 4 

Eating food influences levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain that makes us feel reward. It’s been found that specific foods may contribute to an increase in dopamine levels. These foods are often high in sugar, fat, and salt. What happens when you consume your favourite chocolate? You release endorphins — this is your feel-good hormone which keeps us coming back for more.  

Eating when you’re bored often serves as a coping mechanism, to escape the emotions you’re feeling. When you snack, it breaks up your boredom by releasing dopamine — very much the same reason you grab your phone and scroll through social media. The outcome is temporary hits of satisfaction with no real long-term reward.