--- description: Take a look at your kitchen. title: Why You Might Be Overeating and What to Do About It image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta24c50091f078928/69887e8a8e0601efc3464b46/dirty-dishes-sink.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Diet & Nutrition](/tag/dietnutrition/) ## Diet & Nutrition Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Surprising Reason You Might Be Overeating and What to Do About It by [Megan Kennedy / Health.com](/author/health-com/) ## Megan Kennedy / Health.com Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 23, 2016 1:00 PM CUT  Sink full of dirty dishes Sink full of dirty dishesGetty Images by [Megan Kennedy / Health.com](/author/health-com/) ## Megan Kennedy / Health.com Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 23, 2016 1:00 PM CUT Do you struggle to resist the temptation of the cookie jar? Your cluttered countertops could be to blame. The results of a recent study by the Cornell Food and Brand Lab suggest that a [messy kitchen leads to more snacking](http://eab.sagepub.com/content/early/2016/01/28/0013916516628178.abstract "undefined"). For the experiment, half of the study’s 98 participants (all women) were asked to wait for someone in a tidy, quiet kitchen. The other half were told to wait in a disorganized, loud one with a sink full of dirty dishes, newspapers strewn across the table and a phone ringing off the hook. Both kitchens had bowls of cookies, carrots and crackers. **_Health.com:_**[_How What You Have on Your Kitchen Counter Can Predict Your Weight_](http://news.health.com/2015/11/09/how-what-you-have-on-your-kitchen-counter-can-predict-your-weight/?xid=time "undefined") The women who waited in the messy kitchen ate twice as many cookies as the first group—which came to an extra 53 calories in 10 minutes. “Being in a chaotic environment and [feeling ](http://foodpsychology.cornell.edu/OP/Cluttered%5FKitchens "undefined")[out of control is bad for diets](http://foodpsychology.cornell.edu/OP/Cluttered%5FKitchens "undefined"),” explained lead author Lenny Vartanian, PhD, in a press release. “It seems to lead people to think, ‘Everything else is out of control, so why shouldn’t I be?’” And if you’re already flustered when you walk into chaos (say, after a long, busy day), the effect seems to get worse. Some women in the study were primed with a writing exercise to feel stressed out beforehand, and when they entered the cluttered kitchen, they consumed 100 more calories than women who were primed to feel cool and collected. **_Health.com:_** [_How Putting a Mirror in Your Dining Room Might Help You Lose Weight_](http://news.health.com/2016/01/05/how-putting-a-mirror-in-your-dining-room-might-help-you-lose-weight/?xid=time "undefined") The silver lining? Having a calm mindset seems to counteract the urge to nibble on unhealthy snacks, even when your surroundings are anything but. [Meditation](http://news.health.com/2015/08/28/the-beginners-guide-to-meditation/ "undefined") might be one way to help keep your hand out of the cookie jar, suggested co-author Brian Wansink, PhD, the director of the Food and Brand Lab, in the study’s press release. However, he points out, “it’s probably easier to just [keep our kitchens picked up](http://foodpsychology.cornell.edu/OP/Cluttered%5FKitchens "undefined") and cleaned up.” [_This article originally appeared on Health.com_](http://news.health.com/2016/02/18/the-surprising-reason-you-might-be-overeating-and-what-to-do-about-it/?xid=time "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4232910/overeating-dirty-sink/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4232910/overeating-dirty-sink/"},"headline":"The Surprising Reason You Might Be Overeating and What to Do About It","datePublished":"2016-02-23T13:00:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:16:30.365Z","description":"Take a look at your kitchen","url":"https://time.com/4232910/overeating-dirty-sink/","keywords":["Diet & Nutrition","diet","Food","calories","Weight loss","health","eating","kitchen"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta24c50091f078928/69887e8a8e0601efc3464b46/dirty-dishes-sink.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan Kennedy / Health.com"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta24c50091f078928/69887e8a8e0601efc3464b46/dirty-dishes-sink.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"dirty-dishes-sink","caption":"dirty-dishes-sink","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/dietnutrition/","name":"Diet & Nutrition"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4232910/overeating-dirty-sink/","name":"The Surprising Reason You Might Be Overeating and What to Do About It"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Know Right Now: The Dangers of 'Skinny Fat'","description":"Carrying fat around the midsection is dangerous, even if the person isn’t overweight, researchers say","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/nwMvhaug/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-11-10T15:39:55.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/nwMvhaug.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4232910/overeating-dirty-sink/","duration":"PT1M1S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4232910/overeating-dirty-sink/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```