{"id":957,"date":"2022-11-30T19:30:08","date_gmt":"2022-11-30T19:30:08","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2023-09-05T00:15:13","modified_gmt":"2023-09-04T16:15:13","slug":"what-is-night-eating-syndrome-an-overview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.circledna.com\/what-is-night-eating-syndrome-an-overview\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Night Eating Syndrome? An Overview"},"content":{"rendered":"

Night Eating Syndrome is an often misunderstood condition. For example, it\u2019s common for many of us to feel more compelled to eat at night. After a long and stressful day, your hunger cues may not catch up with you until you\u2019ve finally had a chance to sit down and unwind.<\/p>\n

This is common for people that have such stressful days, they\u2019re too distracted to remember to eat, and they end up eating a lot late at night. This, however, might not qualify as the \u2018Night Eating Syndrome\u2019 condition.<\/p>\n

Having the occasional craving for a midnight snack<\/a> is perfectly normal. However, for some people, the desire to eat at night can be far more severe.<\/p>\n

Some people experience extreme hunger<\/a> at nighttime, after dinner and despite already having enough to eat that day. If you find yourself constantly consuming a large portion of your daily calories at night, or eating excessive calories at night, you could be affected by Night Eating Syndrome.<\/p>\n

This condition is a form of \u201cdisordered eating behavior<\/a>\u201d. It includes a number of symptoms found in various mood, sleep and eating disorders, from uncontrollable hunger to severe stress and insomnia. Left unchecked, the issue can quickly begin to influence your weight and health.<\/p>\n

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What is Night Eating Syndrome? (NES)<\/h3>\n

Night Eating Syndrome (NES), is a unique eating disorder which prompts people to consume most of their calories at night. In many cases, people even wake from sleep to eat. It can contribute to \u201cbinge eating<\/a>\u201d disorder as well. People with this condition often believe they need to eat large quantities of food to fall asleep, or simply feel compelled to eat at night.<\/p>\n

The condition was first explained by a psychologist named Albert Stunkard in 1955, who considered the issue to be a behavioural symptom of obesity. Unfortunately, very little research has been conducted into the concept since. However, researchers do believe around 1.5% of people have NES. This number increases to between 6% and 16% of people<\/a> with obesity.<\/p>\n

NES can be confusing to understand and diagnose, because it shares symptoms with many other eating disorders. For instance, other \u2018sleep-related eating disorders\u2019 and \u2018binge eating disorder\u2019 also involve consuming large quantities of food at night.<\/p>\n

In certain sleep-related eating disorders, the person with the condition isn\u2019t fully awake, and may not remember eating at all. With Night Eating Syndrome, however, individuals are aware of what they\u2019re doing, and fully awake.<\/p>\n

While this condition doesn\u2019t appear to discriminate based on age or gender, it is more common in people with other eating disorders such as bulimia or binge eating disorder.<\/p>\n

The condition may also be more common in people with depression, anxiety, insomnia, low self-esteem, sleep apnea, and restless leg syndrome.<\/p>\n

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Symptoms of Night Eating Syndrome<\/h3>\n

There are various symptoms associated with Night Eating Syndrome, which can vary from one individual to the next. Some people don\u2019t realize how severe their condition is until they (or their family member) discover extreme messes in their kitchen each morning.<\/p>\n

The primary symptoms of NES include:<\/p>\n

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