Symptoms And Causes of Night Eating Syndrome

Have you been waking up in between your sleep to eat? Do you have trouble sleeping and feel that only eating will help you sleep better? If yes, you may be suffering from night eating syndrome. People with night eating syndrome wake up at night to eat as they feel it will help them sleep. Read this article to understand what night eating syndrome is and its symptoms and causes.

What Is Night Eating Syndrome?

Night eating syndrome is a health condition that causes you to wake up many times during your sleep to eat. People with this eating disorder have difficulty sleeping and overeat during the night. This causes difficulty in maintaining a healthy weight and leads to other health conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes. It is common in people who suffer from depression, anxiety, obesity, or have other eating disorders like binge eating or bulimia nervosa eating disorder. 

However, you should note that night eating syndrome is not the same as sleep-related eating disorders. This is because people are fully awake while eating in the case of night eating syndrome, whereas, in the case of the latter, people eat while asleep and find it difficult to recall it the next day. 

Symptoms Of Night Eating Syndrome

Waking in between sleep to eat

One suffering from this disorder wakes up frequently during sleep as it becomes difficult to sleep without eating. They usually suffer from insomnia four or five times a week and sometimes even wake up multiple times to eat at night.

Reduced appetite during the day

People have a low appetite during the daytime, which eventually increases at night. Many people don’t feel like eating anything in the morning, while some feel the same way in the afternoon too.

Higher intake of calories at night

People with night eating syndrome have the urge to eat food high in calories like carbohydrates or sugar which causes difficulty maintaining a healthy weight.

Also Read: Disordered Eating: 5 Ways To Manage It

Depression and anxiety

Night eating syndrome can occur more in people with depression and anxiety. They find it difficult to control their eating habits and end up overeating.

What Are The Possible Causes Of Night Eating Syndrome?

Although the exact cause of night eating syndrome is unknown, there are some possible answers. Some of them are as follows:

Genes

You might have night eating syndrome if your parents or grandparents had it too. 

Cardiac rhythm disorders

You may suffer from night eating syndrome if you have cardiac rhythm disorder. The cardiac rhythm, your body’s internal clock that controls your sleep and hunger, gets affected and may lead to night eating syndrome. There may be a hormonal imbalance as your body produces hormones which make you hungry at night rather than in the daytime.

People with mental health issues like depression and anxiety can also develop night eating syndrome. In addition, people with other eating disorders and substance abuse can also develop from this syndrome.

Also Read: Sleeping With Lights On? Know Why It Can Be Harmful

Takeaway

Night eating syndrome should not be taken lightly as it can cause complications later. It can lead to obesity and reduce the quality of your sleep. Maintain a healthy diet and avoid foods high in sugar and carbohydrates. You should also practice good sleep hygiene to promote healthy sleep cycle. Moreover, you should not confuse it with binge eating and seek your doctor’s help if you experience it regularly.