Experts say that having a late-night meal keeps the body on 'high alert' at a time where it should be winding down, which can have dangerous implications for our health. Researchers have now said that we should never eat within two hours of our bedtime, and ideally, nothing after 7pm.
Eating late in the night leaves the body on a 'high alert' state, which interferes with the circadian rhythm. It also prevents our body from powering down. If on the other hand, food is taken earlier, it is not only digested better, you sleep well and wake up energised too.
Eating something at night, after your normal dinner hour or extending late into the evening, can cause the body to store those calories as fat rather than burn it as energy, according to Kelly Allison of the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Weight and Eating Disorders.
Besides the extra calories, eating too close to bedtime can have other health implications such as digestive issues. When sleeping, our digestion naturally slows down as our metabolism enters a resting state. Lying down in bed immediately after eating can lead to symptoms such as indigestion, acid reflux and heartburn.
Experts suggest that dinner should be eaten within 7 pm. Eating an early and light dinner helps to improve sleep, improves digestion, boosts metabolism and also reduces blood pressure, keeping you healthy. Most health problems can be solved in a jiffy if we only start to eat our dinner early.
They are a great source of instant energy, at the same time they also spike the blood sugar level. Having it close to bedtime may disrupt your sleep due to a rise in the blood sugar level. Besides, post-sunset our metabolism slows down and it finds it hard to digest carbs. So, it is better to limit the carb intake.
Having a decent overnight fast may be a great place to start to give your gut bacteria a helping hand. Having a 10-12-hour overnight period, say 7pm-7am where no food is consumed, is a very traditional way of eating.
The goal is to eat every 3 to 4 hours in order to keep your blood sugar consistent and for your stomach to optimally digest. Setting this schedule consistently across days can also help curb overeating which can lead to bloating or indigestion.
The ideal time to eat dinner appears to align with your circadian rhythm and allow your body time to adequately digest food before laying down for sleep. This typically means eating dinner at least 2 to 3 hours before bedtime. It may be especially helpful for people who want to: lose weight.
If you want to maintain or lose weight, then you shouldn't eat after 7 p.m. There are myriad reasons why people might not want to eat after a certain time in the evening, especially if it's close to when they go to sleep, says Cara Harbstreet, M.S., R.D., L.D., owner of Street Smart Nutrition..
The normal range for transit time includes the following: gastric emptying (2 to 5 hours), small bowel transit (2 to 6 hours), colonic transit (10 to 59 hours), and whole gut transit (10 to 73 hours). Your digestion rate is also based on what you've eaten.
Eat fatty food
High amounts of fat in the blood contribute to making the arteries 'sticky', increasing the risk of adverse heart events. So if you must indulge a little after dinner, look for lower fat options such as Greek yoghurt and fruit, a little gelato or a couple of crackers with nut spread or cottage cheese.
So when exactly should you stop eating? Scientists can't agree on a single set time, but the consensus seems to be within three hours before bedtime. So if you go to bed at 11 p.m., don't eat after 8 p.m. Banishing late night snacks after that time could help alleviate the symptoms of acid reflux disease, too.
There's no such thing as a set time you should eat dinner.
Someone who wakes up at 5am could be having dinner at 5pm, while someone who goes to sleep at 1am could be having dinner at 10pm–none of it is inherently wrong or unhealthy, according to Farah Fahad, registered dietitian and founder of The Farah Effect.
New study provides experimental evidence that late eating may increase hunger, obesity risk. Obesity afflicts approximately 42 percent of the U.S. adult population and contributes to the onset of chronic diseases, including diabetes, cancer, and other conditions.
Weight gain
Going to sleep directly after you eat means your body doesn't get a chance to burn off those calories. In fact, eating a big meal and then hitting the couch can be just as harmful. Eating an early dinner allows your body time to burn off extra calories before you go to sleep.
There's no evidence that a small, healthy snack before bed leads to weight gain. Just keep in mind your total daily calorie intake. Therefore, if you feel that eating something before bed helps you fall asleep or stay asleep, it's OK to do so.
That being said, while the body doesn't fiendishly stockpile food as fat when the clock strikes 6 p.m., eating at night is linked to weight gain. And limiting late-night eating has been shown to result in weight loss, too.
If you want to control your blood sugar levels, having an early dinner by 7 PM is better so you can sleep by 10 PM and wake up after a restful 8 to 10 hours of sleep.
“The studies suggest that eating out of our normal rhythm, like late at night, may prompt weight gain” and higher levels of blood sugar, which can raise the risk of chronic disease, Allison says.
A recent study reported at the American Heart Association's annual meeting that eating high-calorie meals after 6 P.M. significantly increases the risk for high blood pressure and high blood sugar levels that can lead to type 2 diabetes. Blood pressure usually drops at night, which allows the body to rest.
Though going to bed hungry can help with sleep and weight loss, lack of access to food can actually increase your risk of obesity, asthma, and other health problems.
Experts say that having a late-night meal keeps the body on 'high alert' at a time where it should be winding down, which can have dangerous implications for our health. Researchers have now said that we should never eat within two hours of our bedtime, and ideally, nothing after 7pm.
Skipping breakfast and other meals is one behavior studied as a factor influencing weight outcomes and dietary quality. Based on evidence that skipping breakfast reduces total daily caloric intake, some weight-loss recommendations include skipping breakfast (i.e., intermediate fasting) as one strategy to use.