Night eating syndrome may affect 1 or 2 out of 100 people in the general population. Three years ago, Zafar experienced depression and anxiety after failing his CSS exams. Problems in the family, low self esteem made Zafar vulnerable to night time eating and weight gain.

“I fell into depression after failing my exams. It was a dark period. I snapped out of it all by myself. I didn’t take any prescribed medication. I changed my career path. I’ve just realized few months ago that I’ve a bad habit of eating at night. I sometimes sleep through the day and don’t eat much. I’m ravenous after 11pm. I live in Karachi and you can order food all night long. Very late night deliveries are available. I find I’m addicted to eatoye.pk and foodpanda.pk. I’ve gained a lot of weight in past 11 months. I’m experiencing depression again. I’ve seen a psychiatrist on Tariq road but I feel they have no clue what I’m going through. I really want to overcome this problem, i hope you’ll have few suggestions, as this problem is destroying my academic and social life.” Male Karachi

Research indicates that people with night eating syndrome tend to suffer from a distinct form of depression. In contrast to the usual pattern where depression is more pronounced in the early part of the day, night eaters tend to become more depressed during the evening.

It’s not clear what causes night eating syndrome and why it is associated with depression or addiction. One theory is that night eating syndrome involves a disruption in the hormones that regulate sleep, appetite, or mood. Because late-night snacking usually involves carbohydrate-rich “comfort” foods, this theory holds that night eating syndrome is a form of self-medication.

Harvard.Edu

I found this brilliant article by Ali Kerr, Nutritional Therapist – Author – Recovery Coach in my Inbox. Ali discusses self-help strategies and I found them very useful in breaking the cycle of nighttime eating. Given Zafar’s history of depression, it’s very important, Zafar sees a doctor for a complete evaluation and a registered dietitian to help him with his meal plans.

Are you a Night time Eater?

Many of us feel in control during the day but when nighttime comes it’s very hard to control ourselves. For many of us bingeing is usually worse at night.

One of the major reasons for this is simply hunger. If you’ve been skipping breakfast, avoiding food groups or only eating salads all day, the chances are that your body is famished and crying out for food.

So the first step is to ensure you are eating enough balanced food throughout the day to avoid excessive hunger at night.

But it’s not as simple as that. Because if we’re not physically hungry then we’re emotionally hungry and emotional hunger is never about the food. It’s about what the food allows us to avoid.

For some of us bingeing at night is simply a way for us to change the way we feel. Or more so, numb how we feel, so we don’t have to feel anything.

The evening is the time many of us overeat because we’re emotionally (and sometimes physically) exhausted. It might be the first chance we have all day to actually think.
We’re no longer running a million miles per minute. Our kids are sleeping, the emails have slowed down, everything is put away (sorta), we’re no longer at work…it’s just us.

So, how do we overcome nighttime eating?

Well, it’s important to ask ourselves some questions.
The only way to overcome overeating is to get to the root cause of our hunger.
This type of emotional hunger is less about the food and more about about what the food allows us to avoid. Questions help us to change our perspective and that’s the idea. They help us get to the root cause of our hunger.

Here are some to get us started:

What does the nighttime represent to me?

Am I lonely?

Am I dreading another day of work?

Do I have anything to look forward to?

Am I overwhelmed by the stuff all around me?

Am I overwhelmed by all the stuff that needs to get done?

When is the last time I truly had fun?

Am I bored?

Am I intellectually challenged?

Does my significant other make me feel even more lonely because I don’t connect with them in a way that I want to be?

Asking ourselves the questions above will help us identify why we want to eat and that’s critical.

Here’s the deal though:
Deep down we may know (even though we might not want to acknowledge) the real reason. And if we don’t know the real reason, asking these questions will certainly help.

While this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to overcoming emotional eating, they’re very powerful.

To your health and happiness,

Ali
Nutritional Therapist – Author – Recovery Coach
Bulimiahelp.org