If you were to ask nutritionists about the “cardinal sin” of eating, you would find a recurring theme: nighttime eating.
Eating after 6 pm is the worst thing you can do when attempting to maintain weight or shed pounds.
Life and mindful eating center on impulse control. Those capable of controlling their urges tend to succeed.
Eating a “fourth meal” after dinner is an example of poor impulse control. Even worse is night eating syndrome or NES for short.
Those saddled by NES eat a significant amount of their daily food in the nighttime hours.
Why NES is a Problem
The body struggles to burn calories when not in motion. Therefore, downing a significant amount of calories hours before going to bed sabotages your attempt to lose weight.
In addition to lowering the body’s metabolic rate, NES also disrupts the stomach. The attempt to digest food while lying in bed leads to sleepless nights with minimal or no random eye movement (REM) essential for fulfilling rest.
Let’s face facts: nearly everyone has late night cravings.
What matters most is that we do not give into those cravings.
Instead of enjoying a piece of hard candy or chewing gum, NES sufferers eat handfuls of snacks or even full meals prior to hitting the hay.
NES is Problematic Beyond Obesity
NES patients are more likely to be obese than those who eat three square meals before 6 at night.
Eating prior to sunset gives the body ample time to digest food and burn calories. Ideally, there will be enough time to fit in a lengthy neighborhood walk after eating dinner or dessert.
Aside from obesity, NES sufferers are also more likely to suffer from anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. There’s no need to go through such anguish when a New Jersey food practitioner is available to help.
NES also has the potential to lead to additional health problems including diabetes. A study of patients who self-reported as NES sufferers indicates nearly 10% are diabetic.
NES is not considered inherently dangerous in and of itself. However, health issues resulting from NES are problematic.
Tap into the expertise of a food psychiatrist in New Jersey and you’ll learn how to eat on a schedule to sidestep the trap of NES. Even if you still eat some food at night, consultations with a food psychologist will help better manage your coping skills and symptoms.
Your food psychologist will help you pinpoint the underlying cause of your NES. Though no two NES sufferers have the exact same psychology, they often have similar personal challenges.
Meet with a food psychologist in New Jersey and you’ll uncover the specific psychological, environmental and biological factors that contributed to your disorder. In some cases, body image issues are the underlying problem.
Some such patients wait until the late night hours to eat in an attempt to minimize guilt. Others are idle and lack hunger.
In other instances, anxiety, depression and even flawed circadian rhythms are the root causes of NES. Study results show nearly 70% of NES patients are depressed.
There is even someevidence that individuals might have a genetic predisposition to NES. In some cases, NES is observed in a family member then replicated by others in the household.
The only thing that matters is that you acknowledge the problem and ask for help.
Seek guidance from a food psychiatrist in New Jersey, move forward with that helping hand and you’ll emerge a healthier person.
NES is a Risky Approach to Eating
Some NES suffers claim the disorder isn’t a flawed approach to nutritional sustenance. They argue there is little-to-no difference between consuming calories throughout the entirety of the day versus late at night.
Those defensive of NES argue eating one or two large meals in a small window of time is similar to the sustenance intake of some animals. As an example, snakes eat one large meal per day.
In reality, NES is not a form of mindful nourishment.
Though consuming the entirety of a day’s calories in one fell swoop during the late night hours constitutes the same quantity, quality matters just as much. Eating primarily or entirely at night overworks the digestive system when it should be at rest.
There’s no sense sabotaging the natural circadian rhythm of the body late at night. It is this critically important biorhythm that determines metabolism and digestion.
Add in the potential for gastrointestinal problems caused by late night eating and NES is all the more problematic.
If you still aren’t convinced that NES is a serious threat to health, consider the fact that nighttime eating increases the risk of conditions ranging from cardiovascular disease to type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance.
The Psychological Impact of NES
There’s a psychological element to eating an abundance of food late at night. Those battling NES tend to report feelings of guilt and shame. Most indicate they’ve lost their internal locus of control.
Many NES sufferers have low self-esteem. Factor in the decline in sociability during daylight due to a lack of energy and there is even more reason to ask for help from a NJ food psychologist in the battle against NES.
Is NES the Same as Binge Eating?
Oftentimes, those unfamiliar with human psychology and eating disorders will confuse binge eating with NES. The two disorders are distinctly unique.
Those battling binge eating disorder tend to eat large amounts of food in small periods of time, regardless of whether that time is morning, day or night. Most such individuals do not have binge eating episodes restricted to the time between sunset and sunrise.
In contrast, those with NES almost always exclusively eat at night. Such individuals often eat small (or large) amounts of food several times after the sun sets.
A New Jersey Food Psychologist Will Diagnose Your NES
If you know or suspect you have an eating disorder including but not limited to NES, do not suffer in silence one moment longer.
The return to normalcy starts by asking for help.
Schedule a consultation with a New Jersey food psychiatrist to determine if you are a NES sufferer. This professional will take the time necessary to determine if you actually have NES.
The formal definition of NES is an individual who displays a delayed eating pattern in which nutritional intake is characterized by 25% or more of daily calories consumed after dinner. Moreover, a minimum of two such nocturnal eating episodes must occur on a weekly basis for an NES diagnosis.
NES diagnosis also requires that the patient lack the desire to consume food in the morning a minimum of four times per week. Moreover, sleep maintenance insomnia occurs a minimum of four times per week. Such patients believe they must eat food to return to sleep or reach a sleep state at night.
Most such patients experience depression or a worsening of mood in the nighttime hours. If such symptoms are maintained for a minimum of three months, it is safe to make an NES diagnosis.
Some NES patients unknowingly eat while in a dreamlike state. Others are partially or fully aware of their food intake amidst nocturnal awakenings.
However, it is worth noting that the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Illness, or DSM-5 for short, does not provide an independent diagnosis of NES. Rather, NES is described in the Other Specific Feeding & Eating Disorders DSM-5 category.
NJ food psychologists highlight that the manual indicates there is an awareness and also a recall of nighttime eating.
Your New Jersey food psychiatrist will pose questions about your eating patterns and medical history. It might also be helpful or necessary to conduct tests of your personal sleeping patterns, commonly referred to as polysomnography.
Professional Treatment for NES
Though there is no proven evidence-based treatment modality for those suffering NES, there is hope. Ask for assistance from a NJ food psychologist and you’ll be that much more likely to recover.
Some food psychiatrists have helped patients overcome NES with antidepressants and/or other medications. Other food addiction specialists in New Jersey have helped NES patients using cognitive behavioral therapy.
Also referred to with the acronym of CBT, cognitive behavioral therapy addresses patient thought distortion. CBT also zeroes in on specific feelings that contribute to or cause nighttime eating.
The overarching purpose of CBT is to assist patients in developing effective coping strategies for offsetting emotions and other eating triggers.
Professional Assistance is a Call Away
If you suspect you suffer from NES or another food-related pathology, don’t go one day longer burdening your mind and body. Do the smart thing and ask for help.
Contact an experienced food psychologist in New Jersey today. This professional will take the time necessary to analyze your unique psychology and develop a gameplan for self-improvement.
Your pathway back to normal, mindful eating and mental health starts with a call.
Reach out to us at 908-844-8547 or email info@mindsyncpsychiatry.com to schedule a life-changing consultation with our proven food psychologist.
