Night Eating Syndrome (NES) was characterized by morning anorexia, evening hyperphagia, and insomnia, and was considered to be a response to stress that harms both physical and mental health. The present study utilized the Night Eating Questionnaire (NEQ), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ), and the Chinese Big Five Personality Inventory brief version-15 (CBF-PI-B-15) to explore how perceived stress relates to night eating behavior and the role of cognitive emotion regulation and personality traits in this process. Key findings revealed that perceived stress significantly predicted increased night eating behavior (β = 0.392,p < 0.01), with maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies mediating this relationship (indirect effect = 0.264, 95 %CI = [0.198,0.334]). Notably, the extraversion dimension of personality demonstrated a negative moderating effect between maladaptive cognitive regulation and night eating behavior (β = −0.422, p < 0.05). Network analysis identified catastrophizing (strength = 1.107; closeness = 0.022) and perceived tension (strength = 1.054; closeness = 0.020) as central nodes in this network. The association between perceived stress and night eating behavior primarily manifested through catastrophizing and other-blame dimensions of maladaptive strategies. These findings suggest that individuals with heightened stress perception tend to employ maladaptive cognitive strategies, subsequently increasing night eating behavior. Importantly, extraversion became a protective personality factor that weakened the association between maladaptive regulation strategies and night eating behaviors.
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