Stress was found to turn off the brain's natural response to satiation, which is to stop eating, and thus, encourage rewarding continued eating, in a new study that could explain why we crave high-calorie 'comfort food' when chronically stressed. The study found that this happened in the brain's lateral habenula, which when activated usually dampens reward signals and, thus,
The researchers said that their study showed how chronic stress could promote weight gain and obesity and, thus, highlighted the need for a healthy diet during stressful times
Stress was found to turn off the brain’s natural response to satiation, which is to stop eating, and thus, encourage rewarding continued eating, in a new study that could explain why we crave high-calorie ‘comfort food’ when chronically stressed.