Whether you typically eat your last meal a few hours after work or regularly find yourself heading to the fridge for a midnight snack, most people find themselves eating before bed on occasion. However, those late-night snacks may lead to more than just a full belly over time.
A significant body of research suggests that eating before bed can have numerous side effects on everything from your weight to your performance at work. Before you start raiding the pantry again, read on to discover the side effects of eating before bed, according to science.
You may burn less fat.
If you're eager to lose weight and shed excess body fat, you may want to start by ditching those snacks before bed. A 2020 study published in PLOS Biology found that, among a group of six study subjects over the age of 50, those who ate a meal late in the evening burned less fat while they slept than those who ate their last meal earlier in the day, despite both groups having equivalent caloric intakes and activity levels.
You may gain weight.
If your weight loss efforts aren't working, you may want to consider having an earlier dinner. A 2020 study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism found that individuals who consumed dinner at 10 p.m. instead of 6 p.m. were more likely to develop glucose intolerance and reduce their rate of fat oxidation, "potentially increasing the risk of obesity and metabolic syndrome," according to the study's authors.
You may be more likely to develop metabolic syndrome.
Your risk of metabolic syndrome—a group of conditions that includes excess abdominal fat, increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, and elevated cholesterol or triglycerides and may make you more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke—may increase if you typically eat before bed.
According to a 2018 study published in BMC Public Health, among a group of 8,153 adults between the ages of 40 and 54, women who ate dinner close to bedtime or consumed snacks after dinner were more likely to develop metabolic syndrome than those who didn't. The same study also found that both men and women who ate at night were more likely to experience dyslipidemia, a condition marked by higher than normal levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, or both.
You may have less restful sleep.
Your late-night meals and your morning exhaustion may be more interconnected than you think. A 2011 study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that, among a group of 52 adult study subjects, those who ate close to bedtime were more likely to experience sleep disturbances, including taking longer to fall asleep and experiencing reductions in REM sleep, than those who allowed sufficient time to elapse between their last meal and sleep.
You may perform less well at work the next day.
It's not just your weight that those late-night snacks may be affecting. A 2021 study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology revealed that individuals who ate unhealthy food at night were more likely to have physical issues, including headaches and diarrhea the following day, and be less helpful and more withdrawn at work the following day.
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