Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Why Can’t I Stop Eating At Night?

Midnight SnackFood habits can make or break your health. When you are on a diet, you may be really happy that you are finally consuming nutritious food which will help you lose weight and attain your health goals really fast. But there may be specific problems which may throw a spanner in the works of your best laid plans. Excessive eating at night is one such habit, which may even become a disorder if you let it be.
Who does not love a midnight snack? But when this occasional snacking becomes a habit, you may find it going all downhill from there on. And soon you may find yourself having a bigger meal than your dinner in the middle of the night! But for your own good you should check your night cravings at the earliest possible point of time.
This is because; eating recklessly at night can ruin a hard day’s schedule of diet and exercise, which you stuck to, so religiously in order to attain your health goals. You will be eating only unhealthy snack food at night because that’s what cravings are for.
But why can’t you stop eating at night? There may be several reasons behind this if you consider this problem as one which is similar to binge eating. Research shows that depression, anxiety, interpersonal problems, boredom, and dieting are few of the main reasons behind night eating.
Snacking at night on sugary foods can have a comforting effect on your system. This is because the simple sugars present in these foods create a feeling of euphoria and energy-rush when they mix with the bloodstream. This can give you a morale boost when you are depressed or sad due to professional or personal problems.
Boredom may also be the reason why you walk up to the fridge late at night and gorge on the candies, pastries and other sinful delights. When you are not tired enough to fall asleep, you may find hunger building up within you and will soon want to take a look at what’s there to eat. This is a bodily response, because the longer you keep awake the more energy you need.
You may also be on a very strict diet during throughout the day. So subconsciously you hate all your meals from breakfast to dinner. And when the rest of your family is asleep at night, you feel the urge to indulge yourself in some delicacies you have been denied throughout the day. This can also lead to a night-time eating marathon, because you want to cheat!
There may be the fact that your diet is providing you insufficient calories and nutrition. This may leave you hungry even after dinner. Thus, you cannot help yourself from making guerrilla attacks on your fridge in the middle of the night!
Moreover, if your fridge is stacked with god food while you are on a diet, this urge to cheat may grow even stronger.
While these are the primary reasons behind night time eating, you must make sure that this does not become a disorder of any sort for you.

No comments:

Post a Comment