Weird quarantine cravings have a root in science and stress

Scientists don't understand how what you crave is determined, but they do know that stress plays a role in urges for strange and unexpected food.

Jordan Heuvelmans 2 minute read May 3, 2020

Stress can cause cravings for unusual foods. Stock/Getty

Staying home is leaving many people to have weird cravings while in quarantine. Whether it’s fast food all day or wanting unusual food that you never would consider before, if your taste buds are tingling for the unusual, there is a scientific explanation.

There’s a reason why you may be craving foods that you normally never would, and it’s due to one thing based on COVID-19 and the pandemic: stress. Kent Berridge, Ph.D., a James Olds Distinguished University Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Michigan Department of Psychology studies how the brain generates pleasure, controls appetite, and learns reward. He explained to Men’s Health why we’re craving random food right now.

“What guides the specific target of our cravings, neuroscience does not yet understand very well,” he said. “We can say at least that specific food cravings are not random. They’re specific to you as an individual, and your history with foods, and your particular likes and dislikes.”

He added that while we have a good understanding of how brain craving circuitry works to intensify our cravings, we’re still trying to understand what controls the specific target of a focused craving. What we do know, is that cravings for specific kinds of foods increase whenever we are stressed. 

Berridge told Men’s Health that all stresses trigger what’s known as the brain’s master stress neurotransmitter, CRF (corticotropin releasing factor) in the hypothalamus, amygdala and nucleus accumbens, which are parts of brain-craving circuitry. Stress can ignite and intensify those cravings. 

“CRF can directly promote craving itself,” Berridge said. He added that CRF can “also contribute to the unpleasantness of some stressors by acting in other brain structures, and some foods may be eaten more as ‘hedonic self-medication.’” This refers to the feelings of guilt or disgust for indulging in some unhealthy or weird foods after giving into your cravings.

Being at home, stressed about the pandemic and worrying about the unknown can also increase stress eating for more sugary foods or those that are high in calories — and cause unusual ones to pop up, according to Berridge.

So if you’re wondering why you’ve got strange or unusual cravings, stress is probably the culprit. While indulging once in a while is fine, make sure you’re not continuously stress-eating. Food can be a source of comfort, but it’s important to make sure that it doesn’t become a coping mechanism for our feelings, especially in stressful times, weird cravings or otherwise.










