Eating Before Bed -Is It Bad For You?

Most people know that it isn’t ideal to eat close to bed. But how many of us know why this actually is? How is it going to affect you? And will eating before bed actually make much difference to your health/weight?

Is Eating Before Bed a Good Idea?

In a word, no. There are a couple of main reasons why;

1/ If you eat late at night you are going against your body’s natural ‘circadian rhythm.’ Read a separate blog here for more on circadian rhythm. But essentially it’s all about your body’s insulin sensitivity. Basically your body is much better geared up to handle and use the food you put in it, in the morning. That’s because our bodies know that we are fuelling them for the days tasks/work ahead. Similarly at night your body is not wanting/expecting a load of calories chucked into it, because the day is essential done, and from a practical perspective there really is no need for those calories.

So these late night calories are being stored as fat while you sleep. Rather than the morning calories that are being used as energy throughout the day.

2/ The evening is when most people tend to eat unhealthy stuff. Our minds are telling us to go into relaxation/enjoyment mode in the evenings. After a day at work, with the kids etc. This means if we do eat late at night it tends to be unhealthy things, e.g. salty/sugary snacks, processed foods carbs etc. So avoiding eating late as a routine is advisable solely from this perspective as well.

How Late Can I Eat?

Ideally, eat nothing 3 hours before you go to bed. So obviously the time depends on your bedtime.

BUT….

The way I have laid it out above is the ideal way to do it for weight loss/metabolism. That doesn’t mean to say that all is lost is you can’t make it work like that. If your work schedule doesn’t allow, there’s not much you can do about that. Or if eating dinner early means you are raiding the fridge/cupboards starving at 9/10pm that’s no good either. You would be better off having dinner a little later than snacking really late at night.

If I have to eat late what should I avoid?

If you really can’t avoid eating, what you choose is really important. Steer clear of anything with sugars and/or carbs in it. Go for something like raw veg and hummus. Or maybe some Greek yogurt (with a few berries or other low sugar fruit if you really need it). This should stop any insulin spikes before bed and the pre-mentioned fat storage. Really try to avoid any sugary/salty snacks, any processed, caffeine and alcohol.