Skip to main content
Close Close

Congratulations
You're on the list.

Make sure to check your spam folder so that our emails are always delivered into your inbox.
xo, Kourt
Give your inbox
and your life

the Poosh it needs.
By clicking SIGN UP, you agree to receive emails from Poosh and agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.
Free Shipping on All Domestic Orders.
  • HEALTH + WELLNESS
  • LIFE + STYLE
  • HOME + ENTERTAINING
  • KMK
Poosh
  • Poosh Your Wellness
  • instagram pinterest facebook twitter youtube join newsletter
  • Shop
  • search
  • search
  • body
  • diy
  • fitness
  • Giving Back
  • health
  • mind
  • Relationships
  • Sexual Wellness
  • soul
Why You Should Write Your Fears Down First Thing in the Morning
Why You Should Write Your Fears Down First Thing in the Morning
The Best Position (for Most Women) to Have Internal Orgasms
The Best Position (for Most Women) to Have Internal Orgasms
Tough-Love Dating Advice
Tough-Love Dating Advice
What to Eat and Avoid: The Acne Edition
What to Eat and Avoid: The Acne Edition
Do You Have An Anxious Attachment Style?
Do You Have An Anxious Attachment Style?
How to Activate The Pelvic Floor To Optimize Your Workouts
How to Activate The Pelvic Floor To Optimize Your Workouts
  • Adulting
  • beauty
  • guides
  • Hacks
  • style
  • travel
Self-Growth Hack: Small Ways to Hold Yourself Accountable
Self-Growth Hack: Small Ways to Hold Yourself Accountable
Summer Dresses You Can Wear Into Fall 
Summer Dresses You Can Wear Into Fall 
The Poosh 30-Day Mask Challenge 
The Poosh 30-Day Mask Challenge 
The Surprising Benefits of Buccal Facial Massage
The Surprising Benefits of Buccal Facial Massage
Under $50: How to Organize Your Pantry Like a Kardashian
Under $50: How to Organize Your Pantry Like a Kardashian
Chestne Hacks Everyone Should Know
Chestne Hacks Everyone Should Know
  • decor
  • entertaining
  • kids
  • motherhood
  • Playlists
  • recipes
Inside Kendall Jenner’s Stunning Bathroom
Inside Kendall Jenner’s Stunning Bathroom
Strawberry Oat Milk Iced Coffee Recipe
Strawberry Oat Milk Iced Coffee Recipe
How to Make Pineapple + Banana Vegan Whip
How to Make Pineapple + Banana Vegan Whip
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Baked Oats
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Baked Oats
The Easiest Cucumber Salad for Summer
The Easiest Cucumber Salad for Summer
2-Ingredient Oat Tortillas Recipe
2-Ingredient Oat Tortillas Recipe
  • family
  • kourtney
Why Kourtney Drinks Beet Juice Every Morning Before Her Workout 
Why Kourtney Drinks Beet Juice Every Morning Before Her Workout 
Kourt’s Matcha Protein Bites
Kourt’s Matcha Protein Bites
The Kravis Guide to Eating Vegan in LA
The Kravis Guide to Eating Vegan in LA
Kourt’s No-Makeup Glow Routine
Kourt’s No-Makeup Glow Routine
Penelope’s 10th Birthday Details
Penelope’s 10th Birthday Details
The Most Helpful Things Kourt Has Learned Since Having COVID Again
The Most Helpful Things Kourt Has Learned Since Having COVID Again
What are you looking for?

Menu

  • Shop
  • HEALTH + WELLNESS
    • body
    • diy
    • fitness
    • Giving Back
    • health
    • mind
    • Relationships
    • Sexual Wellness
    • soul
  • HOME + ENTERTAINING
    • decor
    • entertaining
    • kids
    • motherhood
    • Playlists
    • recipes
  • KMK
    • family
    • kourtney
  • LIFE + STYLE
    • Adulting
    • beauty
    • guides
    • Hacks
    • style
    • travel
  • Poosh Your Wellness
  • Newsletter
instagram pinterest facebook twitter youtube join newsletter
health

Am I Hungry  OR JUST BORED? 

By Poosh
share on pinterest share on facebook share on twitter Share on Flipboard share by email
 Photo credit @fvlyacelik
@fvlyacelik

Life is full of daily little mysteries: Where have all the bobby pins gone? Is happiness just chemicals circulating through our bodies? Am I hungry or just bored? While we can’t answer the first two, we do have some clarity on boredom eating, thanks to the help of registered dietician nutritionist Rachel Swanson, MS, RD, LDN, founder of Diet Doctors, LLC.

Food—particularly hyperpalatable food—is a common coping mechanism for a variety of situations, boredom included. But typically, those hyperpalatable foods don’t offer much nutritional value. What they do offer, however, is dopamine, a feel-good chemical in our brains. And guess what our brains are low on when we’re bored? Yep, dopamine.

“Boredom eating starts out very benign—perhaps even undetectable,” Swanson says. “You might turn to food to soothe a particular emotion or to fill a void. It tastes good, so it makes you feel better. The next time a similar circumstance arises, the process repeats itself and eventually becomes a positively reinforced cycle.” It becomes a strategy—often unintentional—we use to cope.

The difference between physical hunger and psychological hunger

“Physical hunger will resolve after eating a balanced, nutritious meal,” Swanson says. “Psychological hunger is not resolved after eating a balanced, nutritious meal. In fact, it’s common to seek out more food/snacks despite already eating.” That’s why boredom hunger feels insatiable.

“That bag of perfectly sweet-and-salty popcorn is a conduit for making us feel great in that moment; it provides a dose of pleasure, even if short-lived,” Swanson says. Or, as the authors of this study put it, “Unhealthy behavior may draw attention away from the threatening, self-focused, existential experience that boredom entails.” Sounds about right.

Swanson says that the first step is separating boredom and food intake. “These two things do not have to exist at the same moment in time,” she says. So basically, identify when we’re eating out of boredom. (We know, easier said than done.)

A good place to start is to ask ourselves if we’d complain about eating a meal of healthy—but maybe not that exciting—foods. Swanson gives salmon and broccoli as an example, but ofc that can be tweaked for each of us individually. When we can ID boredom eating, we definitely have the ability to ID what we really want or need, Swanson says.

That means working to change our coping mechanisms. “Effective solutions are those which are deliberately tied to your brain’s reward pathways, in order to guarantee positive reinforcement,” Swanson says. “Think: the feeling you get when you’re talking to your best friend on the phone. Or right after you complete a workout. Or simply being engrossed in learning something new … Keep in mind the solution isn’t just to ‘stop’ eating out of boredom. That rarely works since sooner or later, willpower diminishes,” she says.

Again, this is all very much easier said than done—so we need to remember to be kind to ourselves. “You didn’t get into this habit overnight, so let’s not expect to break out of it overnight,” Swanson says. “You can undoubtedly change your coping mechanisms with a little mental fortitude combined with repetition of practicing new behaviors whenever you feel triggered. Eventually, you will no longer have to fight the urge of boredom eating. The urge becomes weaker to the point where you may notice it but will no longer have the desire to act on it.”

The content provided in this article is provided for information purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice and consultation, including professional medical advice and consultation; it is provided with the understanding that Poosh, LLC (“Poosh”) is not engaged in the provision or rendering of medical advice or services. The opinions and content included in the article are the views of the interviewee only, and Poosh does not endorse or recommend any such content or information, or any product or service mentioned in the article. You understand and agree that Poosh shall not be liable for any claim, loss, or damage arising out of the use of, or reliance upon any content or information in the article.

Up next, be the first to know our weekly content and sign up for our Poosh newsletter.

You may also like...

Go to article Your Essential Mineral Cheat Sheet
health

Your Essential Mineral Cheat Sheet

Go to article Digestion Hacks to Make Things Easier on Your Gut
health

Digestion Hacks to Make Things Easier on Your Gut

Related Articles

Goes to article What to Eat and Avoid: The Acne Edition
beauty

What to Eat and Avoid: The Acne Edition

Goes to article Do Allergies Get Worse as We Age?
health

Do Allergies Get Worse as We Age?

Goes to article Why Kourtney Drinks Beet Juice Every Morning Before Her Workout 
kourtney

Why Kourtney Drinks Beet Juice Every Morning Before Her Workout 

Goes to article The Somatic Benefits of Shaking
health

The Somatic Benefits of Shaking

Goes to article How to Make Your Salad Less Sad
health

How to Make Your Salad Less Sad

Goes to article Your Essential Mineral Cheat Sheet
health

Your Essential Mineral Cheat Sheet

Goes to article Do You Own a Weighted Blanket Yet?
body

Do You Own a Weighted Blanket Yet?

Goes to article Top 10 Anti-Aging Foods
health

Top 10 Anti-Aging Foods

  • About
  • Contact
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • California Privacy Rights
  • Affiliate Disclosure
  • Accessibility

Keep in Touch

instagram pinterest facebook twitter youtube join newsletter
Reviewed by Accessible360
  • © poosh, llc
    All Rights Reserved