By Carol Church, Writer, Family Album
Reviewed by Agata Kowalewska, PhD, Department of Family, Youth, and Community Sciences, University of Florida
You’ve just been dumped, and are flopped on the couch, totally miserable. Sad music is blaring from the speakers. Let’s see…is that a pint of Ben and Jerry’s in your hand? (Cherry Garcia is still my favorite.)
The desire to eat “comfort food” when we’re sad, stressed, or unhappy is a familiar one to most people. Many of us occasionally indulge in high-fat, high-sugar options under these circumstances. Some might even say that having a “bad day” offers a socially acceptable reason to indulge in foods we might not otherwise eat.
In the Lab: Comfort Food on Trial
But while we may enjoy the taste of our comfort foods at these times, here’s a question worth asking: Does eating them actually improve our mood? Researchers from the University of Minnesota recently tried a fascinating experiment to find out.
About a hundred college students (the average age was 24) were asked to select their top 3 most preferred “comfort foods” from a list. The researchers actually went out and obtained these foods for participants in the experiment.
An Upsetting Movie–Then a Chosen Treat
Before you get too jealous, though, you should know that in order to test whether the foods “worked,” they showed participants a short film that had been put together with the express purpose of creating feelings of sadness, anxiety, anger, and fear. Only after watching this film did some viewers get to eat their “comfort food.”
To see whether the food was effective, participants rated their moods immediately after the film, and then a few minutes later, once they’d had a chance to eat the “comforting” food. This was then compared to participants’ moods after watching the film and either eating no food at all, or eating a food that was liked okay but not considered “comforting.”
At first glance, it might seem like the comfort food did its job. Participants’ moods started off low after the movie, but then rebounded after a few minutes’ time, once they’d eaten their chosen snack. But surprisingly, movie viewers bounced back just as easily after eating another type of snack—or even no snack at all!
Time Is What Really Heals
In fact, it seems like time, rather than treats, was what allowed these people’s moods to improve after seeing the unpleasant film. Comfort food, while likely enjoyable, didn’t noticeably affect emotional state.
These interesting findings suggest that it’s probably wise to stop buying in to the idea that “comfort food” helps us recover from bad days or sad feelings. Those who struggle with weight or just want to focus more on healthy eating choices might actually be a bit relieved to know that such food, while tasty, isn’t likely to lift spirits more than just waiting it out.
In fact, if time is what helps, maybe we should rediscover other enjoyable (but healthful) activities that make us stop counting seconds–like going for a walk outside, dancing, or singing. Got your own method for snapping out of a bad mood that doesn’t call for brownies or mashed potatoes? Share it in the comments below.
(Photo credit: Ice Cream Sundae by Daniel Lee. CC BY 2.0. Cropped.)
References:
Wagner, H.S., Ahlstrom, B., Redden, J.P., Vickers, Z., & Mann, T. The myth of comfort food. Health Psychology, 33(12), 1552-1557. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/hea0000068
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