Is eating before bed good or bad for you?

Many people think that eating before bed is a bad idea.

This often comes from the belief that eating before bed causes weight gain. However, some claim that a bedtime snack can actually support a weight loss diet.

So what should we believe? The truth is that the answer is not the same for everyone. Much depends on the individual.

Eating before bed is controversial

The question of whether you should eat before bed – that is, between dinner and bedtime – has become a hot topic in nutrition.

Conventional wisdom says that eating before bed can lead to weight gain because your metabolism typically slows down when you go to sleep. This could increase the likelihood that calories will be stored as fat.

Additionally, some health experts say that eating before bed is perfectly acceptable and may improve sleep or weight loss.

So it’s no surprise that many people aren’t sure which option is best.

Part of the problem is that there is evidence to support both sides of the argument.

Although many people think that a slower metabolism during sleep causes weight gain, your nighttime basal metabolic rate is almost as high as during the day. Your body still needs a lot of energy while you sleep (1).

There is also limited evidence supporting the idea that calories count more before bed than at any other time of the day (2).

Although there appears to be no physiological reason, several studies have linked eating before bed to weight gain (3, 4, 5).

So what’s going on here? The reason is probably not what you expect.

Summary

Eating before bed is controversial. Although there is no definitive physiological reason why eating before bed would cause weight gain, several studies have shown that it might.

It can lead to unhealthy habits

Current evidence shows no definitive physiological reason why eating before bed should lead to weight gain. However, several studies show that people who eat before bed are more likely to gain weight (3, 4, 5).

The reason is much simpler than you think. It turns out that people who eat before bed are more likely to gain weight simply because a bedtime snack constitutes an extra meal and, therefore, extra calories.

Additionally, evening is the time of day when some people tend to be hungriest.

Research has also shown that people who are stressed tend to see an increase in their levels of ghrelin, the hunger hormone, in the evening. This makes it even more likely that a bedtime snack will end up exceeding your calorie intake relative to your daily calorie needs (6, 7, 8).

There are those who like to snack in the evening while watching TV or working on their laptop, and it’s no surprise that these habits can lead to weight gain.

Additionally, some people feel extremely hungry before bed because they haven’t eaten enough during the day.

This extreme hunger can cause a cycle of overeating before bed, then being too full to eat much the next morning, and being excessively hungry again before bed the next evening (9).

This cycle, which can easily lead to overeating and weight gain, shows why many people should eat balanced meals during the day.

It seems that the problem with eating in the evening is not explicitly related to the fact that your metabolism switches to storing calories as fat at night. Instead, weight gain may be caused by bedtime snacks, which increase your calorie intake.

Summary

Eating before bed can lead to weight gain due to habits such as eating while watching TV or consuming too many extra calories before bed.

It’s not good if you have acid reflux

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a common condition that affects 18.1 to 27.8 percent of people in the United States. This happens when stomach contents, such as stomach acid, flow back into your throat (ten).

Symptoms include:

• stomach pains
• difficulty swallowing
• a lump in the throat
• dental erosions
• a chronic cough
• laryngitis

If you have any of these symptoms, you may want to avoid eating before bed because when lying down it is much easier to regurgitate (ten).

Therefore, if you have reflux, it’s a good idea to avoid eating anything for at least 3 hours before bed (11).

Additionally, you may want to avoid drinking or eating anything that contains caffeine, alcohol, tea, chocolate, or hot spices. All of these foods can make symptoms worse.

Summary

People with acid reflux should not eat anything at least 3 hours before bedtime. They may also want to avoid trigger foods, which can make symptoms worse.

Potential benefits

While eating before bed may not be the best idea for some people, it can be beneficial for others. can actually reduce nighttime eating and promote weight loss.

Some evidence suggests that, rather than causing weight gain, eating a bedtime snack may help some people lose weight.

If you tend to consume a lot of your calories after dinner, having a structured after-dinner snack instead of continually “snacking” can help you manage your appetite and avoid overeating (12, 13).

In a 4-week study of adults who ate evening snacks, participants who began eating a bowl of cereal and milk 90 minutes after dinner consumed an average of 397 fewer calories per day (13).

Ultimately, participants lost an average of 1.85 pounds (0.84 kilograms) from this change alone (13).

This study suggests that adding a small snack after dinner may help people who snack in the evening feel satisfied enough to eat less than they otherwise would. Over time, this can also lead to weight loss.

Better sleep

Getting enough sleep is very important, and lack of sleep has been linked to overeating and weight gain (5, 14, 15).

There is no evidence that eating a small, healthy snack before bed causes weight gain. Just keep your total daily calorie intake in mind.

Therefore, if you think that eating something before bed helps you fall asleep or stay asleep, you can do so.

Stabilized morning blood sugar

In the morning, your liver begins to produce extra glucose (blood sugar), which provides you with the energy you need to start the day.

This process causes virtually no change in blood sugar levels in people without diabetes. However, some people with diabetes cannot produce enough insulin to handle excess glucose in the blood.

For this reason, people with diabetes may wake up in the morning with high blood sugar levels, even if they haven’t eaten anything since the day before. This is called the dawn phenomenon (16, 17).

Other people may experience nocturnal hypoglycemia or low blood sugar during the night, disrupting their sleep (18).

If you experience any of these, you may need to talk to your doctor about adjusting your treatment.

A few studies have also suggested that a snack before bed might help prevent these changes in blood sugar by providing an additional source of energy to help you get through the night (18, 19, 20).

However, because the research is mixed, it’s best to speak with your doctor to decide what’s best for you.

Summary

Eating a structured bedtime snack can be beneficial, allowing you to eat less at night or sleep better. It can also help manage your blood sugar in some cases.

What should you eat before bed?

For most people, it’s perfectly acceptable to have a snack before bed.

There’s no recipe for a perfect bedtime snack, but there are a few things you should keep in mind.

While eating before bed isn’t necessarily a bad thing, filling up on traditional desserts or junk foods like ice cream, pie, or chips isn’t a good idea.

These foods, high in unhealthy fats and added sugars, trigger cravings and overeating. They make it very easy to exceed your daily calorie needs.

Eating before bed doesn’t necessarily cause weight gain, but eating these high-calorie foods before bed certainly can, and it’s best to limit them.

If you have a sweet tooth, try some berries or a few squares of dark chocolate (unless caffeine doesn’t bother you). Or, if you prefer savory snacks, grab a handful of nuts instead.

The essential

Eating a snack before bed is fine for most people, but you should avoid overeating. Stick to minimally processed, nutrient-dense foods that can help you meet your desired calorie limit for the day.