What Is Night Eating?

Have you, too, often stood in the fridge in the middle of the night and smoked food with both hands? In this case, you might want to think about whether eating at night could be a problem for you.

When a person behaves this way, he gets out of bed in the middle of the night to eat. Often this happens because he wakes up and feels great appetite.

Such eating may only occur at night, and during the day there may instead be either anorexia or non-eatingness due to a person following a strict diet.

Nighttime eating is not just your problem, it is a fairly common phenomenon. As many as one in a hundred people suffer from night eating.

What is night eating?

Binge eating is a serious problem and can be identified by considering whether these two most important traits are met:

• You eat a large amount of food – an amount that is much larger than you would normally eat under similar conditions.

• You feel that you are not in control of the situation. You  can’t stop eating, and you completely lack control over your binge eating behavior.

Features of night eating

Who among us has not heard of eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia? Believe it or not, nighttime eating is a much more common disorder than those.

A night eater often has difficulty controlling his or her own feelings, and often experiences panic attacks that manifest as follows:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Insomnia
• Low self-esteem

According to some psychologists, people for whom eating at night is a problem tend to experience weight problems. This is probably because most of the food is eaten at a time when you should be asleep.

In addition, 20% of obese people admit that they feel much better and more satisfied when eating at night. 75% of them act according to this lust.

While this problem is much more common in obese and overweight people, it can affect anyone.

Symptoms of night burning

The symptoms and behaviors for this disorder are clear and are often similar in different people. As mentioned, people who eat at night do not eat at all or only very little during the day. They just don’t seem to have enough appetite during the day.

In addition, these people tend to be more energetic in the morning, and their energy then fades as the day progresses into the evening. It is very common for nighttime eating to cause sleep disturbances.

Foods devoured at night are mainly products rich in carbohydrates, such as sweets, pastries, bread, rice, pasta, etc.

Tips for getting rid of nighttime eating

Attempts are still being made to find out the causes of nighttime eating and treatment. What is known is that the problem should not be approached through patient overweight. This is a sensitive issue, and the night eater already knows that it is a problem and therefore also feels guilty.

Also, unlike other eating disorders, this is not necessarily about weight or self-image. Thus, it should be remembered that a person greedy at night is not necessarily dissatisfied with his body (or at least not necessarily his greatest concern).

For this reason, it is necessary to focus above all on understanding where the feeling of anxiety comes from and why a person seeks to treat this feeling with the help of food. Thus, the solution usually requires a comprehensive treatment that combines many perspectives, and here the help of a psychologist, psychiatrist, and nutritionists is needed.

The following tips are a few different perspectives on nighttime eating:

Nutrition perspective

• When a person suffers from nighttime eating, he should change his diet to healthy and adapt it to his own situation.

• He should exercise at least half an hour daily.
• Rest is very important for human health, both in terms of quantity and quality. The night eater should learn techniques that will help him get enough sleep.
• He should reduce the amount of stress by spending time on things he enjoys. Social life and activities with others are essential to achieving good health.

Psychological perspective

Cognitive behavioral therapy can help the night eater to understand and gradually change his or her own behavior. Such therapy can be helpful in better organizing one’s thoughts and reducing the stress and anxiety associated with the problem.

Finally

Night eating is a much more common disorder than the better known anorexia and bulimia.

It is important to take a comprehensive approach when trying to change the situation. First, it is imperative to focus on treating the anxiety that triggers night vision.

Do not hesitate to turn to a professional if you suspect that your own eating habits could be a problem, or if you find that you feel very anxious.