Experts generally recommend that you stop eating at least 3 hours before going to sleep, but the world won’t end if you have a stomach ache and a snack. If the night meal escapes, which are often fun, have now become a habit, if you wake up and eat and feel like you can’t sleep without eating, unfortunately, you may be facing a condition called night eating syndrome.
Night eating syndrome is a type of eating disorder. The person with this type of disorder sometimes wakes up and eats several times during the night. This syndrome, which is directly related to your mental health, of course brings with it numerous ailments and diseases. Let’s examine in all details the questions such as what is night eating syndrome, why it is, what are the symptoms and most importantly how is it treated.
First of all, let’s understand the situation; What is night eating syndrome?
Night eating syndrome, in Turkish, night eating syndrome; for the first time in 1995 by Dr. It is a type of feeding and eating disorder described by Albert Stunkard. People with this syndrome feel as if they cannot sleep when they do not eat at night, they wake up once or several times during the night and eat and cannot easily resist this situation.
People with night eating syndrome feel powerless, guilty and ashamed because they have no control over this situation. According to figures released by the National Institute of Mental Health, close to 2 percent of people have this syndrome. According to some sources, night eating syndrome is seen in one out of every 100 people.
Night eating syndrome is much more common in some people:
- In people who are overweight to reach obesity
- in people with depression
- In people with anxiety
- In drug addicts
- Addictive alcohol users
- People with bulimia nervosa
- People with binge eating disorder
The groups in which night eating syndrome is most common are generally in this way. Anyone can suffer from this syndrome, but because the people in the group we listed above already have an addiction or psychological disorder, they are very vulnerable to different eating disorders, such as night eating syndrome.
Let not everyone who eats at night be afraid; What are night eating syndrome symptoms and diagnostic criteria?
- waking up at night to eat
- Eating more than usual at night
- Loss of appetite during the day
- depression and anxiety
Waking up to eat at night:
One of the most striking symptoms of night eating syndrome is waking up from sleep just to eat while sleeping. For a person to be diagnosed with night eating syndrome, they must wake up to eat while sleeping at least four times a week, one or more times a night for several weeks or a month. Because people with this syndrome can only sleep when their stomach is full.
Eating more than usual at night:
It may be normal to wake up at night and have a snack, but people with night eating syndrome eat 25 percent of their daily food at night. Moreover, most of the time they eat foods that contain high carbohydrates and sugar. They can be eaten once and then at once, or several times and eaten as different meals.
Loss of appetite during the day:
No matter who they are, a person who has eaten all night does not feel hungry during the day, and this is the most important symptom of night eating syndrome. These people, who generally prefer to eat their meals at night, may not get hungry easily when they wake up in the morning and even until the evening. Of course, this is hardly considered a health condition.
Depression and anxiety:
People who are depressed or anxious are often the most vulnerable to such addictions. They may also develop night eating syndrome, as food is generally the most accessible thing. The most striking symptom is that these people feel sad, regretful and ashamed after eating at night.
So what causes night eating syndrome, what are the causes?
- Failure of the circadian rhythm, or natural clock, to work correctly
- genetic transmission
- psychological problems
- Substance addictions
- Different eating disorders
- Not eating right during the day
These are the conditions that cause night eating syndrome in general. As a matter of fact, this situation is generally caused by psychological disorders. The person may cling to food for self-gratification in some way, and this may turn into an addiction for time and manifest itself as night eating syndrome.
Irregularity in the circadian rhythm can also cause this type of condition. Especially if you don’t eat much during the day and you have trouble regulating sleep times, your hormones can make you feel awake and hungry at night over time. We can say that genetic transmission does not play a major role in this syndrome.
When should I go to the doctor?
Unfortunately, like many addictions, night eating syndrome does not bother the person until it is too late. Because even if the person with this syndrome is sad and regrets afterwards, he continues because he is dependent on the situation and feels that it makes him happy for the moment.
First of all, know yourself well. Do you think this situation is abnormal, is your quality of life affected? Ask yourself such questions and if you feel uncomfortable, consult an expert as soon as possible. Because untreated night eating syndrome can pave the way for diseases that do not end well, such as diabetes and high blood pressure. Weight gain is inevitable.
How is night eating syndrome treated by specialists?
If you have a psychological disorder that causes night eating syndrome, appropriate antidepressant drugs can be given and therapy can be applied. If there is a condition related to the hormone melatonin, appropriate treatment is applied. However, in general, people with night eating syndrome are encouraged with different therapy methods to try to get rid of this situation.
Don’t worry, you can also solve it yourself:
- Eat a healthy and balanced diet throughout the day.
- Relax your sleep environment and establish a sleep routine.
- Do not consume caffeine before sleep and do not look at the screen.
- Combat stress by using meditation and similar methods.
- Exercise regularly.
What you will do to fight night eating syndrome yourself and what you will do for a healthy life are actually the same. Because if you exercise regularly and eat healthy, you will have a good sleep anyway, and no one will easily interrupt a good sleep and eat.
We answered questions such as what is night eating syndrome, which causes you to wake up at night and eat, what causes it, what are the symptoms, how is it treated. What we describe is for informational purposes only. Do not forget that you should get the most accurate and specific information about night eating syndrome from a specialist physician, as in all health issues.
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