Throwing Off Your Rhythm
Still, the problems with late-night eating extend far past what people choose to eat before bed.
Eating at night can lead to weight gain, even if you don’t eat excess calories. Researchers claim this is because eating at night can interfere with the body’s circadian rhythms.
For instance, insulin – the hormone responsible for getting the sugar in your blood to your body’s cells for fuel – runs along with your circadian clock. So at night (when your body thinks you should be asleep and fasting), your body’s cells become more resistant to the hormone. That means that eating large nighttime meals can cause especially high blood-sugar levels and, over time, fat accumulation, insulin resistance, and Type 2 diabetes.
What’s more, eating right before bed can disrupt your sleep to make next-day cravings a biological inevitability.
Eating, especially a large meal, late at night also increases your risk of heartburn. Esophageal reflux commonly occurs when our stomachs are full and we lie down, allowing the stomach contents to reflux into the esophagus causing discomfort and affecting sleep.
Patients who have metabolic dysfunction tend to eat high-carb meals before bed which spikes blood sugar levels. After a bad night’s sleep, the body’s levels of appetite-triggering hormones increase, while hormones that blunt hunger drop.
Eat Right at Night
It’s recommended for individuals to stop eating approximately 1.5 to 2 hours before going to bed to allow for digestion. Since food is digested better when we are upright. If you are hungry at night, make sure that you grab a healthy alternative. Fight the urge to reach for high-fat, high sugar foods and opt for a healthy protein-packed snack.