eating in the middle of the night...

[mizlaur123]

I have recently had this problem. I have never been a good sleeper but lately i have been waking up and going to the kitchen and beginning to munch on anything around, usually cereal. Anyone else have this problem? Any advise of how i train myself not to do this?

 

[6Swans4me]

Whenever I get into the habit of very late night eating, I just ignore the hunger pains. I'll take a sip of water if it's really bothersome. I'll watch something really boring on tv (monotone history professor on PBS) or read a book till my eyes burn. Next thing I know, I've fallen asleep. Usually, one night of this stops the cravings cold. The only time the hunger pain was bad enough to cause headaches and compell me to eat, I was unknowingly pregnant with twins. :7

Wendy

 

[tneah]

I used to do this. I would wake up and eat, and not really realize I did until the next morning when I would discover dirty dishes or whatever in the sink. Not good.

I do not know how it stopped, but eating a healthy dinner before bed, not too early,since I usually go to bed around 11pm, helped. I sleep through the night without the munchy bug biting!:7

 

[LauraMax]

I have this problem--it's almost like what's been in the news recently about a sleeping pill (can't remember which--maybe ambien?).

Anyway, I fall asleep on the couch a lot & for some reason when I wake up I head straight for the fridge & eat something before I even realize I'm doing it. For some reason sleep seems to make me hungry, or I have some kind of oral fixation that I control when I'm awake but that rears its ugly head when I'm asleep.

Some things about our bodies are just complete mysteries!

 

[Fach]

>I used to do this. I would wake up and eat, and not really
>realize I did until the next morning when I would discover
>dirty dishes or whatever in the sink. Not good.
>
>I do not know how it stopped, but eating a healthy dinner
>before bed, not too early,since I usually go to bed around
>11pm, helped. I sleep through the night without the munchy bug
>biting!:7
I used to do this a lot when I was a teen. Nowadays when i awake really hungry I drink atleast a half glass of water. Typically this will suffice until the AM. Keep it next to the bed so you dont even get up.

 

[diane57]

Are you taking a new sleep medication? I know one of the medicines that's prescribed for insomnia (can't remember which one) can have this side effect, people report that they get up, eat, walk around, even drive, in the middle of the night, and don't have any memory of it the next day.

 

[6Swans4me]

Wait. When I get myself in the habit of late night eating, I know what I'm doing. Do you make a conscious choice to eat in the middle of the night or are you unaware of what you're doing, like sleep walking to the fridge? If I was experiencing the latter, I would seek medical advice and request a sleep study.

Wendy

 

[Teddygirl]

>Anyway, I fall asleep on the couch a lot & for some reason
>when I wake up I head straight for the fridge & eat something
>before I even realize I'm doing it. For some reason sleep
>seems to make me hungry, or I have some kind of oral fixation
>that I control when I'm awake but that rears its ugly head
>when I'm asleep.
>
>Some things about our bodies are just complete mysteries!

Every single night, I wake up sometime 5x a night, it is so weird never had this problem, EVER sleeping, now eating. It happens the same way, before I know it I’m in the frig, its crazy. At first I thought it had much to do with menopause, don’t think so, my insomnia is due to menopause,arghhh I hate it. It has gone from not sleeping to not sleeping and eating, what the F^&^ is next.

I tell ya, the past 8 months or so I have been living off sleeping pills. STOP IT.......I want to get off……x( x(

Teddygirl~

 

[Sunshine 1528]

It doesn't happen to me really frequently, but does seem to depend on what I have had for dinner and the rest of the day.

Sometimes I just drink a glass of Ovaltine or have some warm milk - others I look for a little carb with some protein to stick to my ribs.

Main thing is to keep it to about 200 cals or so. That way I don't feel like it will be overbearing on the next day's meals.

 

[lederr]

I agree with Jaque. If I have had a substantial meal and am satisfied, it seems to happen less. It's when I haven't eatn particularly well during the day or haven't eaten enough for dinner. Then again, sometimes it's just PMS.