The Science Behind Stress Eating: Cortisol, Cravings, and Emotional Hunger
If you’ve ever found yourself reaching for snacks when you’re overwhelmed, anxious, bored, or emotionally drained — even when you’re not physically hungry — you are far from alone. So many people ask the same question:
Why does stress trigger eating, and how do I stop emotional eating?
Let’s start with this truth:
This is not about lack of willpower.
This is about biology, emotions, and a nervous system that’s trying to help you cope.
I had a beautiful opportunity to discuss this very topic at Barnes & Noble with my recent book signing event for Food, Feelings and Freedom: the End to Emotional Eating.
It felt so amazing to recognize that about 8 years ago, I was the one seeking answers, and now I get to share all this knowledge and support with others!
So, let’s take a look at one of the important topics from my book and something that is a driving influence behind emotional eating – Stress!
Stress Changes Your Body — Not Just Your Mood
Stress isn’t just a mental experience. It’s a full-body event. When your body senses growing demands and worries that feel heightened – more than a normal load – your adrenal glands release cortisol, your primary stress hormone.
Cortisol’s job is survival. It sends a message to your body:
“We might need energy. Let’s prepare.”
Here’s what that does:
- You crave quick-energy foods (sugar, refined carbs, salty snacks) as your body increases a demand for glucose (energy)
- However, your body becomes more likely to store energy as fat, if the glucose goes unused
- Your brain focuses on immediate relief instead of long-term goals; it needs to survive not worry about health goals.
This response made sense when stress meant escaping danger. Today that stress is more about overwhelm from work duties, deadlines, the unexpected (hello, flat tire) and emotional overload. Our bodies prepare for the same energy exertion, yet we are not running or fighting – we are sitting!
So, when you eat during stress, your body isn’t failing you — it’s running an old survival program in a modern emotional world.
Food Doesn’t Just Feed You — It Soothes You
Emotional eating isn’t just about hunger. It’s about nervous system regulation.
Highly palatable foods (sweet, salty, fatty) trigger dopamine and serotonin — the brain’s “feel better” chemicals. In moments of anxiety, loneliness, sadness or even boredom or exhaustion, food becomes comfort – a reward, a distraction or simply an escape.
For a few minutes, it works. You feel calmer and quieter inside.
But the emotion wasn’t processed — just muted. It returns, often with guilt layered on top. And that’s how the cycle forms: stress → eat → relief → regret → more stress
How Emotions Drive the Stress → Eating Loop
It’s often not just the situation that creates stress — it’s the emotion underneath it.
If we feel out of control, unappreciated, overwhelmed, even unsafe then food becomes a fast, reliable way to self-soothe when we don’t have another outlet.
Over time, your brain wires the association:
“Stress = food = relief.”
That means even minor stressors can trigger cravings — not because you’re hungry, but because your nervous system wants regulation and simply to feel good.
This is why emotional eating isn’t solved with food rules. It’s solved with emotional awareness and nervous system support.
Insights from Food, Feelings, and Freedom
In Food, Feelings, and Freedom: The End to Emotional Eating, I guide readers through this core truth:
Food struggles are rarely about food.
They’re about:
- what you were never taught to do with big emotions
- how stress lives in the body
- how to tell the difference between emotional hunger and physical hunger
- how to soothe yourself without using food as the only tool
The book helps you:
- Recognize the emotions behind eating
- Understand how hormones and brain chemistry influence cravings
- Use mindful eating and mindset practices to address the root causes
Because once you understand why you’re eating, shame loosens — and when shame loosens, change becomes possible!
Gentle Ways to Start Breaking the Pattern of Stress Eating
Not with restriction.
Not with “being better.”
But with awareness.
Here are simple starting points:
1. Pause and ask one question
👉 “What am I feeling right now?” – sense and name an emotion.
2. Rate your physical hunger (1–10) with 1 being, “I do not feel hungry at all!” to 10 being, “I will eat every known piece of food in the store!”
If it’s below a 5 or 6, your body may be asking for emotional support, not food. Especially if you’ve just eaten within a 3-hour window (about the time our body takes to digest food and sense for hunger).
3. Add before you subtract
Before trying to stop eating, pause and try adding:
- a deep breath
- a glass of water
- stepping outside
- placing a hand on your chest
- doing something that brings you joy
These signals tell your nervous system: “I’m safe.”
4. Track patterns
A food and mood journal can reveal emotional triggers you weren’t conscious of. There are many apps available to track foods and make notes, so include feelings to raise awareness.
5. Swap coping tools
Try a short walk, stretching, journaling, or calling a friend. The goal is to build more than one way to handle stress.
6. Practice mindful eating
Slow down. Notice taste, texture, and satisfaction. This strengthens body awareness and reduces autopilot eating.
The Real Goal
The goal isn’t “never emotionally eat again.” You are human – you have emotions! And we even eat for reward and happiness!
The goal is:
- to have multiple ways to respond to stress
- to understand your emotions instead of numbing them
- to feel safe in your body without needing food to create that feeling every time
- to feel in love with your food, and yourself!
You’re not broken. You’ve been coping the only way you knew how.
Now you get to learn new ways — ones that support your whole life, not just your appetite!
Food, Feelings, and Freedom: The End to Emotional Eating is available online or at Barnes & Noble online or in the Denver West Location.
