Ever asked the question of what happens to your body when eating late at night? Well, if you had done so before now, this is the time for you learn how your body and everything that make up you actually react to the habit of eating in the dead of the night.
Though medically it is advised that such habit can be a very dangerous one specially to the health of the one who practice it, yet people tend not desist from the act. If you ask them, they definitely have reasons or shall we then call it ‘excuses’ as to why this keep repeating itself.
By simple research, it is said that eating dinner early gives your body more time to stabilize blood sugar levels, which plays a role in making you feel less fatigued and irritable. Moreover, eating early gives you more energy to perform activities before bed. If you eat food just before getting into bed, food is not digested properly as lying down causes many problems like acid reflux, gas, bloating, or abdominal pain.
But the truth is, when you have your dinner two to three hours before sleeping, your metabolism improves. The food gets time for proper digestion and there is no acid reflux at night. There should be a gap of 11 to 12 hours between dinner and breakfast. This helps your digestion to function in an optimum manner.
What Happens to Your Body When Eating Late at Night?
Here are some of the tips that will answer your question about what happens to your body when eating late at night. Check them out one after another:
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Impairs Memory and Learning
Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles tested the cognitive abilities of the mice after feeding them for two weeks. There were two windows of feeding. One was during the day when the mice were most active. The other was when the mice slept.
Their findings showed that the timing of meals may significantly affect memory and learned behavior. The mice who ate while they should have been sleeping impaired molecules involved in memory formation.
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Affects Metabolism and Digestion
In general, the body’s metabolism is low at night. This is because we are not moving. Eating late at night makes an already low metabolic state worse. You’re not able to digest the food quickly enough.
Poor digestion can make you vulnerable to illnesses. This is because your body is not able to distribute the right nutrients to the body. If you are binge eating at late hours, you’ll not have the power to fight any diseases you are prone to. Eating healthy and at proper hours would save you from a lot of unwanted illnesses.
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Increases Risk of Obesity
The main risk of eating late at night is that it often leads to consuming more calories. A study by researchers at Northwestern University found that eating closer to sleep may lead to weight gain. This is because of the higher total daily caloric intake and a greater number of eating occasions. Weight gain when unchecked becomes chronic and leads to obesity.
The findings showed that participants who ate between 11 pm and 5 am ate more during the day. They were more likely to eat around 500 calories more per day.
Read Also: Why Physical Activity is Important for Self-Care
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Disturbs Sleep Schedule
When your stomach rumbles at night and asks for more food, it is going to interrupt your sleeping cycle. You would have a feeling of tiredness in your body because of fewer sleeping hours.
The average sleeping hours of a person should be 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. That is a sign of a healthy person. Not having enough sleep can impede a healthy lifestyle.
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Leads to Eating Disorders
People who tend to eat their food late are also likely to make poor food choices. Part of the reason is that you’re tired late at night. And research shows that the more tired you are, the more you’re likely to crave unhealthy or high-calorie food.
Also if you don’t get enough sleep, you tend to eat more than you probably should. If we act on these cravings and poor choices, they can lead to eating disorders. This is a really negative health sign. Eating disorders like emotional eating cause you to eat a lot more throughout the day. Or you would be eating less than the average calories that your body needs.
