Some of my patients and my friends say they snack in the late evening. Indeed it is a quite common phenomenon. Reportedly over 60% of adults in survey studies admit to eating after 8 PM or 9 PM. Being a night owl, my mind is most creative at night when it is dark and quiet. That is the time when I do my creative writing. However, at times I feel like I need to put something in my stomach to keep it going. Is it good or bad for my health and well-being? Let’s see what the research studies in this area are saying.
Most research studies report weight management problems as a result of late evening eating, which can cause a lot of emotional problems in some people, but this can be a subject for another post. It is interesting to find out if there are any other positive or negative consequences of late evening snacking other than weight management problems.
The 2022 study, (Lent, M.R. et al.), was done on adults (medium age was 51.1 and 77.6 % were female). The results indicated that night eating was associated with shorter sleep duration. The 2007 study (Colles, S.L. et al.), reported that individuals having nocturnal snacking tend to have higher psychological distress. The comprehensive 2019 study of Korean women (Lee, K.W et al.) showed an association of night eating with depression and depressive symptoms.
An interesting 2021 study came out of the University of Harran in Turkey (Ucar, C. et al.). The researchers studied the effects of late-night eating of easily and slowly digestible meals on sleep, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and autonomic nervous system in healthy young males. The subjects (20-26-year-old males) were eating easily digestible meals (starch and sugar) or slowly digestible meals (protein and fat). The results indicated that protein and fat-rich meals significantly disturbed sleep, which can negatively affect brain functions.
Late evening snacking is not the same as night eating syndrome which is a type of eating disorder frequently associated with insomnia and requires comprehensive medical and mental health treatment.
The above data suggests that frequent late evening snacking behavior should be avoided, especially if it comes out of stress, anger or sadness, and if you have problems with it please get professional help.
Source: Image by fancycrave1 from Pixabay
Occasional late evening/night snacking is quite common and may be OK, but it is important to make the right food choices avoiding fat and protein-rich fast food and sweets. So what are the best food choices for late-evening snacks? Most research points to having some vegetables, an apple or a cucumber, but as with all veggies and fruits, try to buy organically grown or grow your own. For example, cucumbers are easy to grow.
Cucumbers are low in calories (16 calories in a cup) but are packed with nutrients and fiber that help with digestion and constipation. They have high water content (cucumber consists 95% water!) which helps with hydration. Their low calories and high fiber content helps you feel full and may also help balance the blood glucose level. Maintaining a balanced blood glucose level is considered very important for good sleep quality, which is essential for proper brain functioning.
So here is something simple, quick and healthy to try. If you slice a cucumber and put a little humus on each slice (hummus is also a low-calorie food), it makes for a delicious and very healthy evening snack (my most frequent choice). So, if you are a person who has a habit of having an evening snack, try having a sliced cucumber instead of some unhealthy snacks. Cucumbers are nutritious and low in calories and are a healthy choice for the evening snack.