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Late-night meals have long been seen as a health risk, but new insights suggest that with the right food choices, they might not only avoid causing harm but could actually support better sleep and help maintain a healthy weight.
It is important to understand that overeating before bedtime disrupts the body’s biological clock and sleep-wake cycle. A heavy meal before sleep can lead to difficulty falling asleep, frequent nighttime awakenings, early morning arousal and morning fatigue.
What happens to the body during sleep?
Sleep consists of several stages: falling asleep, during which the muscles relax; light sleep, marked by a gradual loss of consciousness; deep sleep, essential for repair and renewal; and REM sleep, during which muscles are paralyzed. Although we are unconscious during sleep, it plays a vital role in many bodily functions, including immune system regulation, body temperature control, cognitive functioning, emotional stability, blood pressure regulation, growth and energy management.
Adults typically require seven to nine hours of sleep per night. Falling short of that increases the risk of accidents, depression, anxiety, heart disease, diabetes — and weight gain.
The link between sleep and a healthy weight
The relationship between poor sleep and weight gain operates on both biological and behavioral levels. Biologically, sleep deprivation can lead to hormonal imbalances, including a decrease in the satiety hormone leptin, an increase in the hunger hormone ghrelin, a rise in cortisol (the stress hormone) and disruption of insulin regulation. These hormonal changes heighten appetite and feelings of hunger, increasing the risk of overeating and weight gain.
Lack of sleep also reduces the secretion of growth hormone (GH), produced by the pituitary gland, which plays a crucial role in immune function, tissue repair and protein synthesis in the brain. Growth hormone also helps increase muscle mass, reduce fat mass and is associated with longevity.
Meital LeviPhoto: Hadar MediaMaintaining consistent sleep and wake times is vital for proper growth hormone secretion, just as important as the total hours of sleep. Growth hormone is secreted throughout the day but peaks during deep sleep. Going to bed much later than usual — about two hours or more — can significantly impair its release. One helpful strategy for boosting growth hormone secretion is to stop eating at least two hours before going to bed.
Behaviorally, sleep deprivation often leads to poor food choices, late-night snacking and reduced capacity for physical activity — all factors that contribute to weight gain. Moreover, weight gain itself can impair sleep quality, creating a vicious cycle: poor sleep leads to weight gain, and weight gain further disrupts sleep.
If you still wish to eat before bedtime, it is better to choose carbohydrates, which boost serotonin release and are digested relatively quickly (whole grains can also enhance satiety). Proteins, on the other hand, can burden the digestive system and reduce serotonin release, making them a less ideal choice before sleep — especially in large quantities.
- The writer is a clinical dietitian at Leumit Health Services.