Almost everyone in their lives at least have once done midnight munching and there are some people who do it almost on a daily basis. But little do people how greatly this habit impact our body in a negative way. This is the reason why health care providers advise against eating late at night or satisfying our late-night appetite with fatty or oily foods.
More dangerous than just having a bad eating habit, late-night snacking has the potential to develop into an addiction and become a full-blown eating disorder known as “Night Eating Syndrome.” Because of this, it is recommended that we consume the majority of our calories in one sitting, on a daily basis, when our bodies are more energetic and we can use the calories in our diets to generate energy.
Although midnight snacking might be the perfect way to cut off your hunger and help you fall asleep, there may be health hazards associated with it depending on what you eat. There are many side effects of midnight munching such as:
- Gaining weight – eating at odd hours interrupts the body’s circadian rhythm (body clock). In addition to hormonal imbalances, a body clock problem can result in weight gain. This may be connected to the fact that unhealthy food choices are also made by late-night diners. Your body’s metabolism slows down and is less efficient at burning calories at night than it is during the day. Without our stomach signalling us when it is full, we eat more than we need to, which eventually causes us to acquire weight.
- Higher blood sugar level – experts say that midnight munching is linked to impaired glucose tolerance, also known as prediabetes. Furthermore, several studies have connected eating at night to insulin resistance, which raises the risk of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.
- Affects memory power – studies indicate that eating at night can have a negative impact on our brains. An imbalance in the body’s circadian rhythm is brought about by eating at the wrong time of day. The hippocampus region of our brain, which oversees memory and recall, has been linked to disturbance by this imbalance.
- Heartburn – It is not healthy for our guts to lie down right away after eating a calorie-dense meal. It takes a specific amount of time for our body to release stomach acid and break down the food we have consumed. Heartburn and acid reflux might occur if we lie down too soon and do not give our bodies adequate time to process the acid in our stomachs.
- Poor sleep quality – Eating dinner late usually means going to bed later, which might throw off a person’s sleep schedule. Furthermore, for some people, eating late at night has been linked to the development of confusing nightmares.
While having a large, unhealthy snack right before bed might cause weight gain or digestive problems, eating a small, healthful meal before bed can help balance blood sugar. But it is better to avoid midnight munching rather than inviting health problems.
