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Night Eating Syndrome and Nocturnal Sleep-Related Eating Disorder

© Heather Mudgett.

While only 1-2% of average-weight adults have Night Eating Syndrome (NES), more than 25% of people who are overweight by 100 or more pounds practice night eating. NES is not yet recognized as an eating disorder, but is receiving more interest by researchers.

Symptoms of Night-Eating Syndrome

Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders, Inc. (ANED) describes the symptoms of NES as follows:

• little or no appetite for breakfast
• delays first meal for several hours after waking up—not hungry or upset about how much was eaten the night before
• eats more food after dinner than during that meal
• eats more than half of daily food intake after dinner but before breakfast
• pattern persists for at least 2 months
• tense, anxious, upset, or guilty while eating
• may be moody at night - tense, anxious, nervous, depressed, etc.
• has trouble falling or staying asleep
• wakes frequently and then often eats
• eats lots of carbohydrates (sugar and starch).
• does not binge eat (relatively short episodes) but continual eatis throughout evening hours

A recent article entitled "Night Eating Syndrome Due to Stress, Not Hunger," suggests that stress-related hormone patterns may play a big part in night eating. The article states that "the relationship between the adrenal gland (which releases cortisol), the hypothalamus, where the appetite center is, and the pituitary, where a lot of hormones are produced, is out of control."

Lynn Grieger, the healthy-eating expert at Ivillage.com, addresses night eating in a less clinical manner. "Eating late at night is a common habit. Most of the time, we eat out of stress or to fill emotional needs, not hunger."
 
Nocturnal Sleep-Related Eating Disorder

A similar behavior is commonly called Nocturnal Sleep-Related Eating Disorder (NS-RED). It is considered a sleep disorder, not an eating disorder. A person may eat  while asleep and have no memory of the events. Foods consumed are often strange combinations or non-food items.

The copyright of the article Night Eating Syndrome and Nocturnal Sleep-Related Eating Disorder in Eating Disorders is owned by Christina Alwan. Permission to republish Night Eating Syndrome and Nocturnal Sleep-Related Eating Disorder in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.