If you're so hungry that you can't go to bed, you can eat foods that are easy to digest and promote sleep. Stay away from large meals and spicy, sweet, or greasy foods before bedtime. Hunger at bedtime associated with malnutrition or overtiredness is problematic and should be addressed.
Focus on these nutrients to build a healthy late-night snack:
Strive for a combo of carbs and protein to promote satiety and support serotonin production, a brain chemical that works hand-in-hand with sleep-promoting melatonin.
“If you are hungry, you should eat something, regardless of the time of day,” says Aimee Takamura, registered dietitian and director of wellness and sustainability at Restaurant Associates. “The act of eating late at night does not affect metabolism or lead to many of the adverse effects you may have heard of.
While we encourage you to avoid late-night snacking, we also discourage you from going to bed hungry. Your body constantly needs energy to function, even during sleep. Skipping meals or going to bed hungry means your body has less energy to rejuvenate and repair itself.
If a person wakes up hungry during the night, they may not have eaten enough during the day or changed their routine to get more exercise. Alternately, a person may not be getting enough sleep, or they may have night eating syndrome.
Bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. These foods are very easy to digest which makes them perfect for snacking before bed. Bananas in particular help you fall asleep since they are filled with potassium and magnesium, and these both double-up as natural muscle relaxants.
There's no such thing as a set time you should eat dinner.
Someone who wakes up at 5am could be having dinner at 5pm, while someone who goes to sleep at 1am could be having dinner at 10pm–none of it is inherently wrong or unhealthy, according to Farah Fahad, registered dietitian and founder of The Farah Effect.
Studies tend to show that when food is consumed late at night — anywhere from after dinner to outside a person's typical sleep/wake cycle — the body is more likely to store those calories as fat and gain weight rather than burn it as energy, says Kelly Allison of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine's ...
So when exactly should you stop eating? Scientists can't agree on a single set time, but the consensus seems to be within three hours before bedtime. So if you go to bed at 11 p.m., don't eat after 8 p.m. Banishing late night snacks after that time could help alleviate the symptoms of acid reflux disease, too.
It's completely normal to wake up hungry. While a grumbling stomach first thing in the morning might not feel so great, you can easily fix it by eating a nourishing breakfast after hopping out of bed. Waking up really hungry doesn't automatically mean that there's something wrong with your dietary lifestyle or health.
Should I eat if I wake up hungry in the middle of the night?
Eating a small snack is a great idea if it's been a while since dinner, but you'll need to avoid too much sugar and starch. The goal is to keep your blood sugar levels as stable as possible. Good options for a late-night snack include: whole grain cereal with low‐fat milk.
Pouring yourself a big glass of water and drinking it may help to quell any cravings or hunger. To stay hydrated, women should consume 2.7 liters and men should consume 3.7 liters of fluids daily. If you don't want to drink plain water, you could add a slice of lemon or a sprig of mint.
