Research
Adherence
High objective self-awareness moderates the relationship between boredom and unhealthy snacking, making high-self-awareness individuals more susceptible to choosing less healthy, exciting foods when bored.
If you are naturally introspective (high self-awareness), you are more likely to turn to 'exciting' foods (healthy or unhealthy) when bored as a way to escape self-focus. To manage this, identify when you are bored and consciously choose a non-food source of stimulation or an 'exciting' healthy snack (like tomatoes) instead of sweets.
GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
Study 3 demonstrated that among people high in objective self-awareness, high (vs. low) boredom increased the consumption of less healthy foods and the consumption of more exciting, healthy foods.
Why this rating
Supported by interaction effects in Studies 2 and 3.
Source
Eaten up by boredom: consuming food to escape awareness of the bored self
Andrew B. Moynihan et al. · Frontiers in Psychology · 2015
DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00369
unknown · n=156Cited 402×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- State boredom increases energy intake (calories, fat, carbohydrates, and protein) in a dose-dependent manner, independent of other negative emotions.Good
- Boredom increases the consumption of 'exciting' healthy foods (e.g., cherry tomatoes) as effectively as it increases the consumption of unhealthy foods (e.g., sweets), provided the individual is high in objective self-awareness.Good
Related findings · Adherence
- Regular physical activity (at least 150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity) reduces all-cause and cardiovascular mortality by 20-30% and lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes by 25-35%.Strong
- Increasing physical activity from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one in middle adulthood significantly reduces the risk of coronary events compared to remaining sedentary.Strong
- Resistance exercise is the only intervention capable of consistently restoring muscle function and strength in sarcopenia, partially overcoming age-related anabolic resistance.Strong
This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →