Why Do I Eat So Much At Night? Is It Night Eating Syndrome?

Do you like to come home at night, have dinner, and then snack while watching TV? Do you end up overeating, feeling guilty, and then having no appetite in the morning? Are you wondering: “Why do I eat so much at night?” You might actually suffer from an eating disorder, night eating syndrome, and not even realize it.

Keep reading to find out:

What night eating syndrome is and how to tell if you have it
Why people might develop this disorder
Consequences of this unique disorder
The difference between night eating disorder and binge eating disorder
What to do if you think you have a problem with your night eating patterns

Night eating syndrome might not seem as “serious” as other eating disorders. But it does keep you trapped, unhappy, and can cause physical side effects.

Why do I eat so much at night?

Do you feel like you have been “good” all day, but then wonder why you eat so much at night? Are you up late at night, and snacking throughout it? Do you avoid eating in the morning, whether because you don’t feel hungry or because you feel guilty about eating so much the previous night? And it doesn’t seem like any medications or medical conditions are causing your problems with night eating?

Your problem could be a combination of food, sleep, and mood issues. This combination can manifest as night eating syndrome (NES), a unique (but common) eating disorder.

What is night eating syndrome?

Night eating syndrome is an eating disorder categorized under the umbrella of other specified feeding/eating disorders (OSFED). It is characterized by a delayed appetite and overeating at night, either before going to bed or if you wake up in the middle of the night.

To be diagnosed with night eating syndrome, you must have three out of the five following symptoms over the course of three months:

“Morning anorexia”: feeling no desire to eat in the morning
“Evening hyperphagia”: eating over twenty-five percent of one’s daily caloric intake in between dinner and bedtime, often in the form of grazing, which is different from planned snacks
Insomnia: difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
Depressive or anxious moods that worsen at night
The belief that you need to eat to fall asleep, or to get back to sleep if you awake in the night

Additionally, the night eating should not be a secondary symptom to another physical or psychological disorder, medications, or substance use.

Also, you have to be aware that you are eating at night. Individuals with this disorder rapidly eat large quantities of food while sleeping or only partially conscious. People with night eating syndrome are aware of personal distress and face impairment in functioning due to their behaviors. If you are not conscious during night eating, you may be facing what’s known as sleep-related eating disorder.

What causes this eating disorder?

This eating disorder is not as well researched as other, more well known ones.

Night eating syndrome may be caused or intensified by:

Dysregulation of the body’s internal clock, which throws off hunger cues, sleep/wake times, and energy levels
Other psychiatric problems, especially anxiety and depression, that make it difficult to relax in the evening
Insomnia, whether it’s trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or experiencing restless sleep
Not making time for or “forgetting” to eat earlier in the day, which intensifies hunger cues in the evening

The disorder can also cause sleep problems, putting sufferers in a cycle of staying up late, overeating, then not eating the next morning.

Related: Read more about how quality sleep promotes eating disorder recovery.

Consequences of Night Eating Syndrome: How serious is it?

Many people with night eating problems might not even realize they might have a disorder. That’s because a lot of people “skip breakfast” in the morning, stay up late at night, and think they don’t have “enough willpower” to just stop eating in the evening.

Related: You are not weak for overeating. This is what to do if you are stuck in a binge-restrict cycle.

They might also just graze at night, not even realizing how much they have eaten until they go to bed sick to their stomach and riddled with anxiety.

But night eating syndrome can:

Heighten comorbid psychiatric problems
Keep you from sleeping well, which leads to a lot of physical and mental problems
Morph into other eating disorders
Reduce your overall quality of life, as your brain cannot function well and distress can take a toll on your mental health

While some researchers link night eating syndrome with obesity, and link obesity with health issues, this disorder is not size-exclusive. In fact, night eating syndrome happens in nonobese people just the same as those in larger bodies — because eating disorders do not discriminate based on body type.

Related: Read about why medical professionals have the wrong idea about the term “obesity” and how it relates to health.

What are some night eating syndrome treatments?

Since night eating syndrome is a combination of mood, sleep, and food problems, there are a number of different ways to treat it. Patients may need more than one type of treatment to overcome night eating syndrome.

DEVELOPING A NORMAL EATING SCHEDULE

While the problem with night eating seems to start at night, it actually begins when you wake up. When you wait until late in the day to eat, your body sends off extreme hunger signals that cause you to overeat in the evening.

To stop the cycle, you have to start eating in the morning and continue eating throughout the day. At first, you probably won’t feel physically hungry in the morning, but as you continue regular eating throughout the day, your body will eventually get used to it. It even starts to send off hunger cues around the times you normally eat.

If you have trouble establishing a normal routine — which includes eating every three or four hours, and eating enough throughout the day — an eating disorder professional can help. A therapist, nutritionist, or dietician may create a meal plan for you. That meal plan will take into account your nutritional needs, and require you to eat every few hours. Once your body naturally sends off hunger cues, then you might drift away from a structured meal plan and start intuitive eating.

SLEEP HYGIENE

Sleep hygiene is defined as a number of behaviors designed to help you get enough sleep and make sure that sleep is restful.

If you have poor sleep hygiene, you are more likely to have problems falling or staying asleep. And, of course, sleep problems contribute to night eating syndrome. That’s why one of the core focuses of treating this disorder is developing good sleep hygiene.

Here are some ways that you can improve sleep hygiene throughout the day:

In the morning:

Get up at the same time every day; this will help “reset” your body’s twenty-four hour biological clock
Try to get out of bed within ten minutes of waking up; this helps you jumpstart your day and keeps you from falling back asleep
Establish a morning routine filled with activities that, when done, signal to your brain that it’s time to wake up; this could include morning hygiene activities, then having breakfast, then going on a mindful walk

At night:

Go to bed at night when your body says that it’s ready
If you can’t get to sleep within half an hour of lying awake, get up and do a quiet, not mentally stimulating activity like reading a “boring” book or coloring
Journal before bed to get out all your worries and things you have to remember
Whatever you do, don’t use your phone before bed or in bed; you can end up scrolling for hours or doing mentally taxing activities that make you more alert
Try not to watch TV before bed; TV is made to be addictive, and often contributes to habitual night eating
Consider moving your phone across the room at night; doing this keeps you from looking at it in bed and forces you to get up to turn off the alarm
If you are physically and mentally able to, consider taking a short, mindful walk or doing some light stretches before bed; these movements do not wake you up like intense movement can
Prepare for the next day by writing out your plans, choosing your clothes, brushing your teeth, etc.; establishing a routine like this signals to your brain that it’s time for bed as you go through these nightly activities
Turn your alarm clock to the wall so you don’t get anxiety from watching the minutes go by

Throughout the day:

Try to avoid caffeine, nicotine, and other stimulating drugs; stop using these in the afternoon so they leave your system at night
Don’t lie in bed unless you’re sick, having intimate relations, or trying to sleep; your bed should be a sanctuary of rest, not a place to hang out and do things
If you are physically and mentally able, consider some healthy, active movement during the day; physical activity helps relieve stress and tires out the body
If you sleep with a partner who snores, come up with a solution to the problem together
Do stress relieving activities so you don’t hold it all in your body
Think of other things to do in the evening than watch a lot of TV; excessive TV time is widely associated with depression and anxiety

If you struggle with keeping a sleep schedule, a therapist can help. A therapist may have you keep a sleep journal. In it, you record what time you lay in bed, when you actually fall asleep, when you wake up, and how well rested you feel. They can hold you accountable for keeping up a routine, and help you problem-solve when you face barriers that keep you from practicing good sleep hygiene.

MEDICATIONS

Researchers have noticed that serotonin, an important hormone for sleeping, is processed differently in people with night eating syndrome. So, many medical professionals prescribe medications to help balance serotonin levels.

Night eating syndrome can also cause or trigger other mental health issues, and medication may help with these issues as well.

THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES

Individuals can benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy, which is used to reframe thoughts around food and sleep. Therapists can also keep you accountable and help you talk through any issues, whether it’s about night eating syndrome or other worries that make you feel stressed or keep you up at night.

LIGHT THERAPY

Research also suggests that light therapy, which helps your body get back to a reasonable sleep/wake schedule, can really help with insomnia and holding off from eating until way later in the day. Light therapy is often used to treat seasonal affective disorder, but can help your body get back on track any time of the year.

What is the difference between night eating syndrome and Binge Eating Disorder (BED)?

Many people who struggle with night eating syndrome are misdiagnosed with another disorder, specifically binge eating disorder. However, there are some features unique to night eating syndrome that separate it from other eating disorders.

People with night eating syndrome:

Eat within a certain time frame, whereas individuals with other disorders involving binge eating have no specific time frame for eating
Tend to eat less during the day
Usually end up eating less in a day than others with binge eating disorder, probably due to the “morning anorexia”
Do not typically use compensatory behaviors to offset their intake from the evening
Have problems with sleep at a much higher rate than those with other eating disorders
Usually do more grazing over time than a full on binge
Often reach for sugary, carbohydrate based things to endure sleepiness, whereas those who struggle with binging may eat a variety of things

What if my night eating has become a problem?

It’s really hard to tackle night eating problems on your own. Your support system is probably asleep when you’re struggling. It’s hard to eat regularly when you’re not hungry. And when you’re exhausted, it’s hard to motivate yourself to change.

That’s why asking a professional for help is so important. You might even need around-the-clock support to make sure you don’t slide back into harmful habits and that you create better ones.

Reach out to an eating disorder professional now, someone who can tell you exactly what you need to get your days (and your life) back on track.

If you or a loved one is suffering from an eating disorder, take the first step today and talk to someone about recovery or simply learn more about the holistic eating disorder recovery programs we offer.

Nicolette Kier

Nicolette Kier, BA English, University of Pittsburgh is an experienced blog writer with expertise in the fields of healthcare and eating disorders. She is also a former volunteer with Project HEAL.