- Eating alone can lead to overeating, increased stress, and poor digestion.
- Registered dietitians say that communal eating can help combat the negative effects of solo eating.
Remember when you would come home from school and smell the mouth-watering aroma of your favorite dish on the stove? "Dinner" someone calls, and everyone rushes over, eager to eat and share the highs and lows of their day.
Fast forward to now, and your dinner routine is very different.
You pick up some takeout after working late, sink into the couch, turn on your favorite TV show, and mindlessly munch away. It's a relief after a long day, but something feels missing.
Indeed, studies and nutrition experts who spoke with Business Insider suggest that communal eating as an adult can relieve stress, improve digestion, reduce the risk of overeating, and promote healthier food choices.
In fact, 91% of families say they feel less stressed when they share meals. For single people, however, finding opportunities to eat with others can be challenging, especially as more of us live alone and work from home more than we did a decade ago and tend to suggest drinks over dinner for dates.
Here's why eating with others occasionally is so important and some expert-backed tips on how to find more opportunities to do so, as well as, how to improve the experience of eating alone.
Why eating with others is beneficial for the body and brain
Even the simplest change of sitting up straight while eating at a table, as we often do with others, improves digestion because food moves along the digestive tract more easily than when we're hunched over a couch or computer screen, says registered dietitian Laura Baum.
Moreover, relaxing with family and friends during meals puts our bodies into what's called a parasympathetic state, known as the "rest and digest" state, says registered dietitian and nutrition consultant Lesley Kumar.
Being in a parasympathetic state aids digestion and helps us absorb our nutrients more fully. Whereas, eating in a stressed or tense state, like while looking over work emails, can cause us to digest food improperly and overeat.
Another reason communal dining may combat overeating is simply that we tend to eat more slowly when conversing and laughing with peers, Baum says. We usually pause more in between bites, which means we're likely to be more mindful of each bite and can better recognize our body's hunger and satiety cues.
It's worth noting that choosing dining mates may be as important as choosing dishes. For example, if those around us eat healthy, nutrient-dense foods, Kumar says we're more likely to do the same.
How to change your eating habits
You don't have to go out when eating with others. Baum suggests initiating virtual meal dates with family or friends, potlucks, or neighborhood meals to mitigate our lonely eating time.
Baum added that the simple act of being more social can lead to more opportunities for communal eating. For example, joining clubs or activities often leads to people eating food together afterward.
When you do have to eat alone, Baum recommends engaging in non-technological activities at the table, like reading a book or magazine. Flipping pages can slow the eating process, giving you time to savor your meal.
You can also improve the experience of eating alone by establishing a mealtime routine, such as sitting in a regular spot and being mindful of your intake.
We evolved to eat together
Historically, meals have always been social events, particularly for many cultures, says clinical psychologist Daniel Glazer, citing examples like Italy's aperitivo hour and Spain's tradition of pausing work for multi-course lunches.
"These moments aren't merely about refueling," he says. "They are sacred rituals that preserve the social fabric through meaningful conversations and shared experiences."
Food breaks cultural and social barriers, fosters a sense of community, and even releases mood-boosting neurotransmitters like oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins, which foster trust, bonding, and pain relief, Glazer says.
Research from the University of Oxford suggests that eating with others may have evolved as a mechanism for social bonding to enhance life satisfaction.
Unfortunately, it's become all too common to go through this meaningful eating process alone, thereby compromising life satisfaction and contributing to the loneliness epidemic we face.
The next time you're about to sit down with a frozen pizza in front of the TV, consider inviting a friend or neighbor over instead.