Hunger at night, find out how harmful it is to eat at night and what foods you can eat to not harm your health and not gain excess muscle mass. Many people cannot fall asleep if they have not eaten before. Without realizing it, they have created a habit that is difficult to consider useful. For many, eating before bed has become as much a tradition as breakfast. Therefore, you should not be surprised by the appearance of extra pounds.
Today, the practice of eating late at night is widespread. We will try to answer why we want to hunger at night and how we can avoid it. There is no point in distinguishing between the terms “eating at night” and “eating at night”. This is because these habits are based on the same characteristics of the human body and psychological motives.
Note that when we talk about hunger at night or eating at night, we mean good meals after seven in the evening. If you consume little, for example, cottage cheese, two hours before going to bed, then there is nothing wrong with it. For example, all professional bodybuilders do this to slow down the breakdown and hunger at night.
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Hunger at night, Can you eat food at night?
Before we say why we want to eat at night, we should find out the positive and negative consequences of this activity. You must remember that the work of the body at night has a significant difference between the days. Now, we’ll only consider some of the processes directly related to our content:
- At night, there is a gradual decrease in the activity of the digestive system – as a result, almost all late meals sit in the stomach and are almost not processed. This leads to the formation of large amounts of toxins where the decomposition process is activated. In the morning, the food processing process begins again and all harmful substances are in the bloodstream. It is quite obvious that such “fuel” is not the best for the coming working day. In addition, you should remember that heavy foods and foods with various chemical additives take a long time to process.
- A full stomach at night puts pressure on other internal organs – this slows down the delivery of oxygen and nutrients and has a negative effect on the quality of sleep.
- In a dream you hardly move – all the carbohydrates that enter the body at night will be converted into fat. Researchers are convinced that a heavy meal at night contributes to the development of obesity no less compared to sitting still.
- Hormonal production is slowed down – Decreased melatonin production has a negative effect on sleep quality and an imbalance between anabolic and anabolic hormones contributes to the activation of aging processes.
If you want to know more interesting facts about the effects of night snacks on the body, then a large number of substances are based on the results of online scientific research.
Why do people want to eat at night and hunger at night?
If we understand that it is harmful to eat food before going to bed, why do we want to eat at night? It should be immediately stated that there is no consensus in academic circles on this point. If you call for logic for help, you can draw the following conclusion – malnourished during the day, a person wants to eat at night. It is this explanation that we find most accurate.
Another explanation for this phenomenon is often severe physical fatigue that accumulates during the day. But it should be borne in mind that night trips to the refrigerator are directly related to psychology. Often people eat food at night due to emotional problems, for example, the day was not the best or a strong stressful situation arose. Therefore, the brain needs some kind of compensation for the lack of positive emotions.
We all know very well the one most popular way to deal with stress – grip. At the same time, everyone understands that it is harmful, but continues to follow fixed habits. If you eat often at night, you will one day become accustomed to a disease that psychologists call hyper-syndrome.
This disease is dangerous not only because it leads to weight gain, but also disrupts the functioning of the whole body. First, we are talking about hormonal imbalances, which in turn can cause more serious problems. The study found that a person who wakes up at night to eat food reduces the concentration of melatonin and thus interferes with sleep patterns.
Researchers have also found violations in the production of hormones such as leptin and cortisol. As a reminder, they are responsible for suppressing hunger and stress. At the same time, many experts are aware that eating at night is directly related to hormonal imbalance and improper nutrition can lead to it. As you can see, scientists cannot yet give an understandable answer to the question of why we want to eat at night?
Is it possible to determine the presence of nocturnal diabetes on your own?
We will now list the main characteristics of this phenomenon:
- Frequent cravings for snacks late at night or at night.
- You cannot sleep long and in the middle of the night you wake up hungry.
- In the morning you have no appetite and you feel discomfort when eating food.
- Most of the calories are consumed at night.
- Anxiety and guilt often occur when eating food at night.
- You often experience stress, bad moods and aggression, and nervousness.
The risk of overeating at night increases significantly if you are overweight or have bad habits. If you experience the first and second symptoms within 30 days along with any of the remaining ones, we recommend visiting your endocrinologist and gastroenterologist. Unfortunately, there is no effective treatment for an overdose. However, experts can help you control your appetite and sleep by making lifestyle changes.
Note that among the reasons for the desire to eat food at night can be gastrointestinal problems, such as gastritis. Agree, this is another good reason to visit a doctor and understand the situation. This disease is often latent and you may not even be aware of its presence.
What can you eat at night?
We have already said that professional athletes, especially bodybuilders, eat food before bed. This suggests that some foods are still allowed during this period. In fact, this is the case and certain foods will not only be safe, but even beneficial. Let us also deal with this issue.
For many people, the whole theory of proper nutrition in the evening and at night fits into one statement – after six or seven hours you should not eat food. But you must remember that proper nutrition involves a lack of hunger, which in this case is almost impossible. If you force yourself to refuse to eat, then at some point you will break down and only get worse. It should also be borne in mind that fasting has a negative effect on the functioning of the whole body. So what can you eat at night?
Light protein foods
Meat is also a source of protein, but it is a heavy product and should not be consumed at night. If you cannot do without it, then give low-fat varieties a choice and eat the product in small quantities. But you can definitely afford high-fat yogurt and kefir. Fish or a few slices of boiled chicken are also good options.
Eat a minimum of carbohydrates in the afternoon
You probably know that it is the extra carbohydrates that the body converts into fat. We have already said that in the evening the digestive system begins to function cautiously and it is undesirable to consume carbohydrates at this time. However, we remember that this nutrient may be different and you will not be full of protein compounds alone. A great example of a healthy supper can be a vegetable salad with a slice of cheese, as well as a glass of low-fat kefir or yogurt.
The last meal should take place at least two hours before bedtime
The only exception to this rule is a glass of fat-free kefir. This product does not contain carbohydrates and has a positive effect on the functioning of the digestive system.
The infamous American psychologist Albert Stankard spent a lot of time researching the problems of nocturnal diabetes. As a result, he is convinced that the main reason for his development is improper nutrition throughout the day. For people suffering from this disease, he created a special diet program. It does not contain any major innovations and overall it is in line with generally accepted standards of proper nutrition.
How do respond to the habit of hunger at night?
We have already said that there is no effective treatment yet to treat alcoholism. The only way to fight this is to change your lifestyle. Here are the basic steps for all people who often eat food at night.
- Eat healthy all day. Do not skip breakfast. One study found that women who ate more food at the first meal compared to dinner were able to lose weight faster. If you eat enough calories in the morning and at lunch, you will not wake up feeling very hungry at night.
- Just try to eat healthy food. Some people may find it difficult to change their eating habits quickly. We recommend that you phase out harmful products gradually.
- Avoid foods that stimulate the production of serotonin. This applies to flour products and sweets. However, it is not necessary to stop these dishes altogether. It is enough to replace harmful products with useful counterparts. For example, instead of chocolate, eat marshmallows or a piece of dark chocolate.
- Strengthen willpower. It has already been said above that people often eat food without feeling hungry. You need to learn to distinguish between real hunger and psychological hunger. This will get rid of many problems. If you cannot do this on your own, seek the help of a specialist.
- If there is no way to skip a snack at night, make it healthy. You already know what food is safe to eat at night. If you want to eat in the evening, grab an apple or drink a glass of freshly squeezed juice. But it should leave the store.
