Stress Eating and Blood Sugar: Why It Happens and How to Break the Cycle

Stress eating is eating to cope with a feeling rather than hunger. Diabetes UK describes it as "eating when you are not hungry as a way to relieve feelings of stress, sadness or even boredom."^[1] Most people do it now and then. With diabetes it can feed a loop of stress, food and high readings. This guide covers why stress pulls you towards sugar, how often emotional eating comes with diabetes and what the studies say helps.

This guide is general education. If you use insulin or other glucose medicines, follow the plan your diabetes team gave you.

What is stress eating?

Stress eating is a form of emotional eating. The food is a response to a mood, not to an empty stomach. Diabetes UK says "feeling stressed or depressed could be a root cause of emotional eating."^[1]

The NHS lists "eating too much or too little" among the ways stress can change behaviour.^[7] So stress can push eating either way. Some people lose their appetite. Others graze all evening.

Some signs that eating may be about stress rather than hunger. This is our own summary, not a clinical test:

• You want a specific comfort food, often something sweet.
• The urge comes on suddenly after a hard moment.
• You keep eating after you feel full.
• You feel guilty or low afterwards.

Stress eating is not the same as binge eating disorder. The NHS describes that condition as "regularly eating a lot of food over a short period of time until you're uncomfortably full."^[8] If that sounds like you, see the section on getting help below.

Why do you crave sugar when you are stressed?

Two small lab studies looked at this in healthy adults:

• In 59 women, those whose cortisol rose most under stress ate more calories on the stress day. They also "ate significantly more sweet food across days." A worse mood under stress was also linked with eating more.^[2] PubMed lists a grant from the US National Center for Research Resources (NIH). We could not see a conflict of interest statement.^[2]
• In 68 adults, stress did not change how much people ate overall. But "stressed emotional eaters ate more sweet high-fat foods and a more energy-dense meal than unstressed and nonemotional eaters."^[3] We could not see its funding or conflict of interest statement.^[3]

So the pull towards sugar under stress showed up mainly in emotional eaters and in women whose cortisol rose most. Both studies were short and done in a lab. Neither included people with diabetes, and we found no study that did. Read the findings as a hint, not a rule.

Does stress raise blood sugar?

It can. The CDC says "stress hormones make blood sugar rise or fall unpredictably."^[5] It also notes that "if you're stressed, you may not take care of yourself as well as usual."^[5] Diabetes UK adds that "turning to comfort food will raise your blood sugar and make you feel worse."^[9]

That is how the loop forms. Stress nudges glucose and habits. Comfort food adds more glucose. A high reading then adds worry. For how stress hormones act on glucose, see our guide to stress and blood sugar.

Is emotional eating more common with diabetes?

Research on emotional eating and diabetes is still small. We found no study that compares emotional eating in people with and without diabetes. The studies we found show that these eating patterns are common in type 2 diabetes and are linked with higher HbA1c:

• In 238 outpatients with type 2 diabetes, an emotional and uncontrolled eating pattern was linked with a higher BMI and an HbA1c 0.54 percentage points higher (about 5.9 mmol/mol).^[4] It was a single-centre snapshot, so it shows a link, not a cause. The authors declared no conflicts. We could not see its funding statement.^[4]
• A 2025 review of 12 studies in adults with type 2 diabetes found binge eating disorder in 2.5% to 29.6% and night eating syndrome in 1.6% to 8.4%.^[10] The range is wide because the studies used different screening tools. It received no funding, and the authors declared no competing interests.^[10]

The ADA says that in type 2 diabetes "binge eating (excessive food intake with an accompanying sense of loss of control) and night eating syndrome are commonly reported."^[6]

Diabetes distress

Living with diabetes is its own source of stress. The CDC describes feeling "discouraged, worried, frustrated, or tired of dealing with daily diabetes care." It calls those feelings diabetes distress and says they "may cause you to stop taking care of yourself."^[5] The ADA says diabetes distress "is distinct from depression and anxiety."^[6]

How common it is depends on the tool used to measure it:

The 2017 review acknowledged support from UK National Institute for Health Research programmes and the Leicester Clinical Trials Unit, and the authors declared no competing interests.^[11] The authors of the US survey reported no external funding and no conflicts of interest.^[12]

A common tool is the Diabetes Distress Scale. It has 17 questions in four areas: emotional burden, worries about your doctor, worries about your treatment routine and strain with people close to you.^[13] In the study that built it, insulin users had the highest scores.^[13] We could not find a funding or conflict of interest statement.^[13] A later study of 463 adults with type 2 found that "DDS was significantly associated with A1C" (HbA1c) while a depression score was not.^[14] It was supported by a grant from the US National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, and no conflicts of interest were reported.^[14]

How do you stop stress eating?

There is no single answer to how to stop stress eating. These steps come from the guidance cited below. Pick one or two to start:

1. Pause and check. Diabetes UK suggests that before "reaching for the biscuit tin you should ask yourself ‘am I actually hungry?’."^[1]
2. Keep a food and mood diary. Diabetes UK suggests noting what you eat and how you feel, so you can spot your triggers.^[1] Note mood and triggers, not calories or weight, and if tracking food makes you anxious, skip this step and tell your team.^[1][6]
3. Try a short breathing break. The ADA lists "mindful breathing" among brief coping strategies a health professional can introduce.^[6]
4. Avoid swapping one habit for another. The NHS advises "try not to use alcohol, cigarettes, gambling or drugs to relieve stress."^[7]
5. Talk to your team about the stress itself. The ADA recommends psychosocial care for all people with diabetes as part of routine care.^[6]

Strict rules can backfire. The ADA warns that "rigid meal plans and strict tracking of food intake and/or body weight can be contraindicated" for people at higher risk of harmful eating patterns.^[6] If you use insulin or a sulfonylurea such as gliclazide or glimepiride, ask your team before you skip or cut a meal to make up for a stress snack.^[6][15] Low blood sugar usually means below 4 mmol/L (72 mg/dL) in the UK^[15] or below 70 mg/dL (3.9 mmol/L) in the US.^[16] Our guide to low blood sugar covers the warning signs. In the UK, the NHS says to call 999 if someone may have very low blood sugar and is not responding normally or is unconscious, and a glucagon injection is not available or you do not know how to use it, or they have not recovered within 10 minutes of a glucagon injection, or they have been drinking alcohol.^[15] In the US, the ADA says to call 911 right away if someone is unconscious and glucagon is not available or no one knows how to use it.^[16]

What the mindfulness trials found

The ADA lists "mindfulness-based therapies" among approaches that work for diabetes distress.^[6] That section does not use the phrase "mindful eating". The trials are small:

• A 2021 review of 8 trials in 841 people with diabetes found mindfulness programmes "can slightly improve" HbA1c, by 0.25 percentage points (about 2.7 mmol/mol), and diabetes distress. The authors said "more rigorous studies with longer follow-up duration are warranted."^[17] It was supported by a Sichuan University nursing fund, and the authors declared no conflict of interest.^[17]
• A 3-month trial in adults with type 2 diabetes compared a mindful eating course with a standard self-management course. Weight change did not differ, and the authors found "both SC and MB-EAT-D were effective treatments for diabetes self-management."^[18] It had 52 people, none of them on insulin. SC (Smart Choices) was the standard course and MB-EAT-D the mindful eating course. It was funded by a US NIH and NIDDK grant, and the authors declared no conflicts of interest.^[18]
• A 4-month trial of a mindfulness course for stress eating in 47 women with overweight or obesity found better mindfulness, anxiety and eating in response to outside cues. Weight and belly fat did not differ from the control group.^[19] None of the women had diabetes. It was supported by several US foundations, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and NIH grants, and the authors declared no conflict of interests.^[19]

So mindfulness may help how you feel and how you eat. The effect on glucose is small and needs better trials.

When to get help

Get support if stress eating feels out of control, or if your mood is low most days. The NHS says:

• See a GP if "you're struggling to cope with stress."^[7]
• For binge eating, "If you think you may have binge eating disorder, see a GP as soon as you can." The eating disorder charity Beat runs a helpline on 0808 801 0677.^[8]
• Call NHS 111 or ask for an urgent GP appointment if "you need help urgently, but it's not an emergency."^[7]
• Call 999 or go to A&E now if "you or someone you know needs immediate help." Samaritans are on 116 123.^[7]

In the US, the CDC suggests you "ask your doctor to refer you to a mental health counselor who specializes in chronic health conditions." It lists a free helpline, 1-800-662-4357.^[5] The NIMH says that if you are suicidal or in emotional distress you can call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.^[20] In life-threatening situations it says to call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.^[20] The NHS reminds us that "a mental health emergency should be taken as seriously as a physical emergency."^[7]

Questions to ask your diabetes team

• Can you screen me for diabetes distress? The ADA suggests doing this at least once a year.^[6]
• Could my medicines affect my hunger? The ADA asks teams to review this when screening for disordered eating.^[6]
• Can you refer me to someone with experience in diabetes and mental health?^[5][6]
• How should I handle a stress snack in my carb count or insulin plan?^[6]

Frequently asked questions

Why do I crave sugar when stressed?

Lab studies in healthy adults found that some people eat more sweet food under stress, mainly those who already eat for emotional reasons or whose cortisol rises most.^[2][3] We found no study that tested this in people with diabetes.

Is stress eating the same as binge eating?

No. Stress eating is eating to cope with a feeling.^[1] Binge eating disorder means regularly eating a lot of food in a short time until you are uncomfortably full.^[8] If you think you have it, the NHS advises seeing a GP as soon as you can.^[8]

Does emotional eating affect HbA1c?

In one study of 238 adults with type 2 diabetes, an emotional and uncontrolled eating pattern was linked with an HbA1c about 0.54 percentage points (about 5.9 mmol/mol) higher.^[4] It was a snapshot study, so it does not prove cause.^[4]

Can mindfulness help with diabetes?

A review of 8 trials found mindfulness programmes slightly improved HbA1c, by 0.25 percentage points (about 2.7 mmol/mol), and diabetes distress.^[17] The trials were small and short, and the authors called for better studies.^[17]

Where to go next

Spotting your triggers, getting support for diabetes distress and talking to your team can help break the stress-eating cycle:

• Stress and glucose, for how stress hormones affect your readings.
• Checking your glucose, for tracking your own patterns.
• Is Diabec legit?, for what is in our supplement and what it does not do.

Note: If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or considering giving any supplement or herbal product to a child, consult your healthcare provider before making any changes to your diet, supplement routine, or prescribed medications.