The sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system pathways are part of our human nervous system. An important thing they regulate is stress.
The parasympathetic state is the rest, relax and digest state of being.
The sympathetic state is the action-ready state. There may be an external threat or stressful task, or, with humans, a remembered threat or trauma, a trigger to put a person into sympathetic mode - flight, fight, freeze or freak-out.
So, I guess this topic speaks toward “when” we eat. It could be seen as a form of time-aware feeding. It could be boxed into the fasting area?
Let’s get “stress eating” on the table and out of the way. Eating when stressed is a norm in modern society. An example is eating when driving. Driving is a potentially stressful activity in many different forms. Do the worst road ragers start with a wave and spit of a fast food wrapped trigger food as part of their wind up? Maybe they wave their phone at a bad lane change, the device they can’t take their eyes from that just fed them a triggering social media post or “news” report? The thoughts do lean toward an addiction to addiction labeling.
Comfort food is a red flag term 
, initially in this ideation rather than actual soothing comfort. Especially if it is a regular first option taken. It may be good to recognise it as such. It also depends on what the food is. You may be eating wolf when you thought you wanted to eat lamb.
Increased stress and compulsive behaviour associated with negative emotions set off a hormonal cascade that drives blood glucose higher, so it is ready for whatever human explosion (or emotional implosion) is expected. If there is no physical exertion that results, then the elevated blood glucose is potentially toxic in the blood stream, so the body spikes insulin to get it stored safely away as body fat.
So, the idea I’m postulating here may explain a few things like apparent plateaus in weight loss plans, or getting fatter “while doing everything right, and recording and measuring all the inputs and outputs”. It may help explain pandemic poundage, the weight gain associated with the fear during the pandemic.
The time to eat may be when the body is in the rest, relax and ready to digest parasympathetic mode. Combined with a low carbohydrate way of eating, aiming for a relaxed state at the time of eating might be a good biohack to a healthier way of life?
Social cooking or food preparation rituals, winding down after a busy day, off loading and processing events in a relaxed warm kitchen, setting a table, putting some slower tempo music on, lower lighting, (this sounds like a romantic date), a few positive words of gratitude or thanks shared before a meal, these may all set the best environment in which to eat, and, in their timing, when to eat.
What do you think?
Nothing is put into that special category anymore and loses its real value ya know. Food and treats were special…like making your ice cream, not a daily occurence for most so when that porch family ice cream was made it was OH so special and you enjoyed it, now you can buy 1/2 gallons of ice cream in a flash and hound it all down if you want…nothing special there ya know.
Maybe some nice roast… But I eat those anyway.
