Jan Chozen Bays, MD defines mouth hunger as the “mouth’s desire for pleasurable sensations.”  She postulates that, “the key to satisfying mouth hunger is to be present at the party in the mouth.  This means to place the focus of our mind in our mouth and to open our awareness to all the textures, movements, smells, sounds, and taste sensations of eating and drinking.”

When we distract during mealtimes with television, reading or fast eating, we don’t satiate our mouth hunger and we continue to eat (past the point of fullness) to satisfy the mouth’s desire.