What Is Night Eating Syndrome?

Do you have a habit of eating a lot of appetite late in the evening? If so, you may suffer from eating syndrome at night.

People suffering from this syndrome wake up in the middle of the night hungry. They have to feed at such hours because they wake up with an uncontrollable desire to eat. However, this only occurs at night. During the day, these people lack appetite or simply do not eat because they follow a strict diet.

Meals served at night are not good for health, although there are many people in this situation. About 1 in 100 people suffer from eating syndrome at night.

What is night eating syndrome?

Characteristics of eating syndrome at night

• depression

Symptoms of eating syndrome at night

The symptoms and patterns of this condition are clear and often recur in the case of those with eating disorders. As mentioned above, people with eating syndrome eat very little at night or not at all during the day. It seems that they lack appetite during the day.

Moreover, these people are more energetic in the morning, but their energy fades during the day. It is also very common for these people to have sleep disorders.

The most consumed foods are those rich in carbohydrates, such as sweets, pastries, bread, rice and pasta, among others.

Tips to prevent and treat eating syndrome at night

The exact causes of this syndrome are not yet known. There is also no specific treatment. What we do know is that it is not a good idea to approach the problem in terms of being overweight. It is a sensitive subject, and sick people already know this and feel guilty.

Also, unlike other eating disorders, eating syndrome at night is not necessarily caused by a certain weight or self-image. Patients are not necessarily dissatisfied with their body (at least this is not their main concern).

It is important to understand where the feelings of anxiety come from and why patients try to calm them down with food. Therefore, the solution usually requires multidisciplinary intervention from professionals in the fields of psychology, psychiatry and nutrition. For this reason, the tips below take into account several perspectives.

The nutritional perspective

The psychological perspective

Cognitive-behavioral therapy can help the person affected by the eating syndrome at night to understand and gradually change their behavior. Therapy can help her organize her thoughts and manage stress and anxiety.

conclusions

Eating syndrome at night is much more common than anorexia and bulimia, although these disorders are much better known. Therefore, it is important to establish a multidisciplinary approach to treating the disease, which will first focus on alleviating the anxiety that triggers nocturnal cravings.

Do not hesitate to ask the specialist if you suffer from this syndrome!