Reasons to Stop Eating at Night

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Wellness Mama » Blog » Health » Reasons to Stop Eating at Night

I remember getting into a night-time eating habit during one pregnancy. It’s easy to justify when you’re growing a human, but these habits can stick around later on. Though it may be helpful during pregnancy and nursing to have a snack before bed, at other times it may actually be unhealthy.

An easy way to get the benefits of fasting (without doing a longer, more extreme fast) is to simply avoid eating a few hours before bed.

Is Eating at Night Bad for You?

Research is showing that intermittent fasting has many benefits, but for some, even a short 16-hour fast is tough to stick with. Luckily, just eliminating night-time eating can have many of the same results.

Here are some reasons to brush your teeth early and call it a night when it comes to eating!

Digestion

According to Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), our digestive system aligns with the sun. When the sun rises, so does the digestive system and when the sun sets the digestive system slows down. Modern science backs this up. According to a study in Arquivos de Gastroenterologia, the digestive system basically sleeps when we sleep. It makes sense that the body doesn’t need fuel when trying to rest.

Our bodies also need to sit upright to digest, so eating before lying down can cause digestive problems. Research shows that eating late can contribute to acid reflux.

Memory

Late-night eating may also affect the brain. One study found that mice that ate during their normal sleep time (since mice are nocturnal that would be during the day) had significant decline in memory.

Another study showed that mice even forgot scary situations, which could mean that eating when they should be sleeping could be serious. (If a mouse doesn’t remember there is a danger he won’t avoid it.) Researchers also found that the shifted eating schedule affected the mice’s ability to learn.

It’s hard to tell how humans would do in a similar experiment, but it does raise concern for how a shifted sleep and eating schedule could affect the brain.

Sleep

Stopping the food train a few hours before bed can be beneficial for sleep — something we as moms are always trying to optimize.

Researchers have found that eating late at night may influence dreaming. Four hundred college students were surveyed about their eating habits and dreams. These surveys showed that one factor for causing bizarre or disturbing dreams was eating late at night. Researchers further theorized that the reason was likely due to bad digestion.

Metabolism and Weight

According to an article in Penn Medicine News, research shows that late-night eating increases weight, but that’s not all. They found that late-night eating likely encouraged the body to metabolize more carbs and fewer lipids (fat). Researchers also found that insulin, fasting glucose, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels increased.

The same study found that late-night eating affects hormones too. During daytime eating the hormones ghrelin (which stimulates appetite) peaked earlier in the day. Leptin, the hormone that makes you feel satiated, peaks later in the day. These findings suggest that eating earlier in the day is not only normal and optimal, but may help reduce late-night snacking.

Human hormones follow the ebb and flow of the circadian rhythm too. At night when the body thinks it should be sleeping, the body’s cells become more resistant to insulin. An article published in Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics shows that eating according to circadian rhythms is important for optimal metabolic function.

Late Meals vs. Late Snacks

There’s an old health adage that says, “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.” The idea is to eat more during the time of day when the digestive system is performing best.

Though there is plenty of reason to stop eating before bedtime, a small snack may be ok. Research shows that small, nutrient-dense, low energy foods and/or single macronutrients (like a small portion of vegetables rather than large mixed meals) don’t have the same negative effects as night-time eating. In fact, it may even have some health benefits (like building muscles).

Basically, having a small, healthy snack before bed when you’re hungry may not be as harmful as having a full meal close to bedtime. If you often skip breakfast and also don’t have a substantial lunch (so easy to do on a busy day), we have to take an honest look at whether we are eating too large of a meal too late at night to compensate.

How to Stop Eating at Night

So, how far before bed to stop eating? The answer can vary depending on individual needs, schedules, and levels of activity, of course, but most experts seem to recommend at least two hours before bed.

Especially as parents who may only get some time to ourselves at night, this is a tough thing to ask! These are some ways I’ve tried to adjust my eating window (while still getting some me-time at night).

Identify Triggers

Often, late-night snacks may have nothing to do with hunger! Is it boredom, stress, or another emotional trigger behind the craving? Recognizing triggers can help us deal with the underlying cause of snacking.

Eat Enough During the Day

Sometimes late-night snacking is a result of true hunger because we haven’t eaten enough during the day. Eat nutrient-dense meals earlier in the day (and don’t skip any!) to avoid the hunger that happens at night. This is especially important (and tough) for parents of small kids who may “forget” to eat when busy with infants and toddlers.

Making a plan to sit down to a meal with your family at breakfast, lunch, and dinner (when possible) can help increase daytime eating and decrease night-time cravings.

Deal With Cravings

For many folks, carb and sugar cravings are what drive those late-night snacks. Balancing blood sugar levels by eating three nutrient-dense meals (with plenty of protein and healthy fat) during the day can help.

Other ways to avoid sugar cravings are:

  • Get moving – Exercise releases some of the same endorphins that eating sugary or salty food does.
  • Get enough sleep – Regular sleep is important for balanced blood sugar and hormone function.
  • Take supplementsB-vitamins and l-glutamine are both supplements that can help the body deal with blood sugar issues and cravings.
  • Have a regular routine – Having a regular eating and sleeping routine is critical. Waking and going to sleep at the same time everyday (even on weekends) helps keep hormones in balance (which will keep cravings at bay).
  • Eat at a regular time – Eating dinner by 6:00 pm is ideal but fasting for at least two hours before bed (with no snacking) gives the digestive system time to rest. The more regular the routine, the easier it is on the body and the easier it is to avoid late-night snacking.

Drink Instead!

And no, I don’t mean alcohol 🙂 I loved Nagina Abdullah’s tip from this podcast to satisfy late night cravings with the natural sweetness and flavors of spiced drinks like cinnamon tea or golden milk.

If Snacking, Make It Light

If I do have a snack, I try to choose something balanced and easy to digest. And if I have wine, I make sure it is low sugar as well.

Final Thoughts on Why to Stop Eating at Night

There are many health benefits to closing the kitchen at least two hours before bedtime, including hormone regulation and healthy blood sugar. Having a consistent routine that helps folks eat more during the day and less at night can help shift a late-night snacker into a day-time eater.

This article was medically reviewed by Dr. Shani Muhammad, MD, board certified in family medicine and has been practicing for over ten years. As always, this is not personal medical advice and we recommend that you talk with your doctor or work with a doctor at SteadyMD.

Have you tried fasting at night? Do you notice any difference in how you feel? Please share!

Katie Wells Avatar

About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Wellness Mama and Co-founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

Comments

8 responses to “Reasons to Stop Eating at Night”

  1. Bobby Avatar

    Yes, I am definitely going to stop eating rubbish at night from now on. As it is one of the reasons I am getting a little fatty.

    Thanks!

  2. Catherine Avatar
    Catherine

    One way to stop eating before sleeping is to get to bed on time! I find I get the “munchies” at night when I have stayed up too late (past 10 or 11).

    And when I do indulge at night, believe or not, I am hungrier the next day. Usually, I am simply not hungry after I wake up until around 10:00am. That makes intermittent fasting easy for me, but only if I do not eat after 8:00pm!

  3. Melisa Avatar

    This is one of those “it depends on the person” subjects and not eating late at night is not a one size fits all solution. Getting home late, having evening activities, etc I would often find myself eating late or worse forgoing dinner based on this theory. Once I was told it had little merit and I allowed myself to eat as late as necessary, it helped both my mentality (no more feeling bad for eating late) and it helped my sleep to go to bed with a full belly. If it fits in your lifestyle and you want to implement eating early, great, but don’t feel guilty if this is unattainable.

  4. Tamara Avatar

    The old adage of eat like a king for breakfast, a prince for lunch and a pauper for dinner was one that I grew up with. Unfortunately I’ve learned as a student of Ayurveda that it isn’t a very good one to follow. Our digestive system has had a nice long break after our last meal, hopefully the pauper’s meal early in the evening before 6 or no meal in the evening. My mother used to serve us big breakfasts, often roasted meats, potatoes and veg. That’s a lot of heavy food to hit the digestive system when its just waking up. So now I eat lightly for breakfast, a big lunch to carry me through and perhaps a soup for dinner if I even eat dinner. We have become accustomed to eating far too much food. No wonder we have an obesity problem. When people skip breakfast, which is very common among those trying out intermittent fasting, they are back to hitting their digestive system with a bigger meal than is optimal and then having a full dinner in the evening making the digestive system work hard while we’re meant to be, resting and healing. Going to bed with food already digested is a great help for quality sleep.

    1. Matthew Hanna Avatar
      Matthew Hanna

      For anyone reading this now. Science says our metabolism is highest in the morning so eat most of your days food early. Eat lesser as the day progresses. Also, insulin resistance is lowest in morning. It’s like your body really wants food. Like we were made to get up early and hunt all day or harvest veggies. I would recommend eating like our ancestors did for millions of years – not night time fire pits you see in the movies – until after the 1970s where you became a dollar bill.

  5. Jeanne Avatar

    Fasting from dinner to breakfast, at least 12 hours, has made a huge difference in my gut. I no longer deal with the bloating and gas that I had before. I’m making it my lifestyle.

  6. Cristy Avatar

    Interesting perspective from Ayurveda. Agree with what is outlined based on hormones, metabolism and even dreaming!.

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