Perhaps as many as 6 million Americans suffer from night eating syndrome, or NES —a newly identified eating disorder which describes behavior patterns in which an individual obsessively consumes more than half of his or her daily caloric intake after eight o’clock in the evening. More significant is the further finding that more than 33 percent of morbidly obese individuals—persons who are 100 or more pounds overweight—are affected by this disorder.
Night eating syndrome is characterized by a lack of appetite in the morning and overeating at night with agitation and insomnia. “Not only is night eating syndrome an eating disorder, but one of mood & sleep as well,” said study author Albert Stunkard, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania’s Weight & Eating Disorders Program.
Dr. Stunkard feels that night eating may be a way that people with an underlying mood disorder such as stress, anxiety or depression, may be trying to medicate themselves with food. "This snacking may be a way for these persons to medicate themselves," speculates Stunkard, "because they eat a lot of carbohydrates, increasing serotonin in the brain, which in turn, leads to sleep."
Night eating can assume a number of different forms or patterns. The authors of the book Overcoming Night Eating Syndrome: A Step-By-Step Guide to Breaking the Cycle discuss four different types of night eaters:
the compelled evening and nighttime overeater;
the anxious/agitated night eater;
the cravings night eater; and
the all-or-nothing belief about sleep night eater.
Registered Dietician Anne Fletcher notes that an evening snack (300 calories or less), if planned as part of the total day’s calories, can be part of healthful eating. Fletcher also recommends implementing a ritual or “meal-termination technique”—something that symbolizes the end of the meal. This might be having a cup of favorite tea, a brief prayer of thanks, or a short walk after the evening meal. A ritual helps the individual transition from one behavior (eating) to another behavior (eg, rest, preparation for bed).
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