Yes! Late-night eating habits may make us gain weight. Although, its exact reason is unknown. Most of us have been told that having food late at night may stimulate our tendency to consume more food and disrupt our internal body clock.
Human metabolism is a complex process. At night, our metabolism may slow down, as such anything we consume at night will be turned into fat more easily than calories consumed during the day. However, our metabolism doesn’t stop working at night, even when we are sleeping. Of course! round the clock it will keep working. But in fact, the calories that our body has absorbed at night doesn’t change our metabolism more than those we absorbed during daytime. As a result, our body won’t burn off the calories we absorb at night.
Various studies on late-night eating habits found that when one eats late at night, his or her body will store those calories as fat and it may tend to gain weight rather than burning it as energy.
Now, take a look at the problems that you may have to face if you have late-night eating habits or you’re simply fond of midnight snacks.
- One of the harsh parts of late-night eating habits is that it may lead to weight gain and cause difficulty in losing weight
- Another fact on late-night eating is that ‘the later you eat, the less your body will be prepared to sleep.’ It may tend to cause a negative impact on your memory and efficiency for the next day.
- Eating before bedtime may increase the risk for nighttime acid reflux, indigestion, and heartburn.
- Eating and sleeping late at night may lead to hypertension and diabetes.
- Regular consumption of junk foods late at night will narrow and clog arteries with cholesterol and fatty deposits.
- When eating late, there was a 26% reduced risk of prostate cancer in men.
- When eating dinner so late, there was a 16% reduced risk of breast cancer in women.
Studies have found that night-time eating does not actually cause fat gain if you stay within your body’s daily caloric needs. Most of us eat at night out of boredom or because of emotions such as stress or anxiety, and that’s how innocent night-time snacking may become binge-like overeating behaviours or fat-boosters.
It is actually like a bank account. An individual can only pound on calories per day, and it’s totally up to one’a to choose when and how to spend them. That’s why personality and behavioural factors are so significant. Therefore, if you love to eat late at night that’s fine, but remember to eat less earlier in the day.
How late is actually late?
Two or three hours before your bedtime is considered as the late eating time. To be clear, if you used to sleep from 10 pm to 7 am, the time between 7 pm to 10 pm would be “late”. This is because our body will metabolise whatever we eat at the end of the day. And, if you aren’t active enough to use up the energy you absorbed, then it will be stored as fat that would eventually result in weight gain and bad health.
Studies have suggested that eating at midnight may increase the consumption of blood glucose, insulin, and cholesterol by the body to a level. Therefore, if you really want to keep your body healthy and reduce your body fat, you should curb your late-night eating habits.
Benefits Of Eating Your Dinner Early
Eating dinner early will lend more time for your body to stabilize blood sugar levels. This is important because blood sugar levels play a significant role in making us feel less fatigued and irritable. In addition to this, eating early will let our body acquire more energy to perform its activities before bed. When you eat food just before going to bed, that food will not digest properly and may cause many problems like acid reflux, gas, bloating, or abdominal pain.
Things to avoid before bed:
Having sound sleep at night plays a vital role in the overall health of every human body. It has positive impacts on our mood, energy levels, and overall health. But, there may be certain before-bed habits that may keep you away from getting sound sleep you’ve been craving. Therefore, if you really wish to have a healthy, fit, energetic body, you should avoid bad before-bed habits at first.
So, here is the list of things that you should avoid before going to bed.
- Do not eat something after you’ve had your dinner.
- Never go to bed immediately after eating.
- Try to avoid drinking caffeine after 5 p.m.
- Percent yourself from doing any strenuous workouts in the evening.
- Avoid or reduce alcohol consumption.
At the same time, we encourage you to prevent late-night eating habits. Plus, discourage you from sleeping without eating. Our body constantly requires energy to function, even during sleep. Therefore, skipping dinner will cause the lack of energy needed to rejuvenate and repair itself. Plus, with less energy, our body holds onto existing fat for energy. This will also make it harder to lose weight and easier to gain weight. And, also leads to several health issues.
Conclusion
Technically, the time you eat doesn’t affect how your body processes food. What actually matters is your total calorie intake and how much you exercise during the day. However, those who eat late at night tend to choose high-calorie foods that their bodies can do without and if you are one of these people, avoid food after dinner which may help you deter weight gain or even promote weight loss. For instance, if you miss a healthy dinner at 6 pm, there’s no reason not to eat it at 9 pm.
Compared to eating earlier in the day, prolonged delayed eating can increase weight, insulin and cholesterol levels, and negatively affect fat metabolism, and hormonal markers implicated in heart disease, diabetes and other health problems.
Hence, it is best to eat food at least two to three hours before going to sleep or eat light calorie foods that can be digested easily. The conventional wisdom today is that a calorie is a calorie, regardless of when you eat it, and that what causes weight gain is simply eating more calories than you burn. Mindless late-night snacking is what gets people into trouble. Controlled portions of healthier options are your best bet.
What’s more?
Get ready to prepare your body to take healthy food on time and always try to feed it with healthy foods rather than processed junk foods. Always remember, “Physical fitness is the first requisite of a healthy life.”