Have you ever heard that you shouldn’t eat past 8 pm? I definitely have, and I used to stick to this rule religiously.
Truthfully I can’t even remember where it originated. I think someone once told me that Oprah started it. But that’s neither here nor there. What matters now is: is it true? And what are we gonna do about it?
That’s what I’m popping in to talk to you about today.
Is there any truth to the rule that we shouldn’t be eating past 8 pm?
Here’s a dietitian’s quick take: it depends.
Don’t you hate that answer? Sorry. But it truly does! Here’s why.
First, 8:00 pm is kind of arbitrary. I’d think this got started because most of us that work a normal workday schedule are going to bed somewhere around 9 pm – 11 pm, and 8:00 seems like a reasonable cutoff time to give your body time to settle down before shutting down.
However, many people don’t work a traditional job with something like a 9-5 schedule, so you might be getting your day started later, eating later and shutting down later. So if you’re going to bed at midnight, or 2 am or 4 am (hi, bartenders!) then why on earth would you stop eating at 8:00?!
So the first step in considering if the 8pm rule is bullshit is to reflect on your personal schedule. Let’s talk about what might happen simply eating close to bedtime, regardless of what actual time that happens to be!
The first thing we are considering is time itself.
When you sleep, your body shuts down unnecessary activity to focus on restoration, detoxification, repair and stabilizing. When you give it the added task of digestion, other things might suffer and you wake up feeling lest rested.
Digestion moves slower when you’re asleep too. If we are talking calories here (let’s be honest, that’s what you’re probably wondering about), your body has more time to absorb more calories from what is in your stomach vs. if you were awake.
The content of what you’re eating also matters when we are talking about late night eating!
Late night or post-dinner snacks tend to be desserts or more indulgent foods. Are you going back for leftover broccoli at 10 pm that won’t stop calling your name? Didn’t think so.
Foods higher in fat (ice cream, for example) or foods higher in acid (hello, dark chocolate) can cause acid reflux even when you stay awake, so imagine how the problem gets worse once you’re asleep lying down.
Not to mention, eating higher carb foods then going to sleep can cause increases in blood sugar levels overnight.
So, does it really matter if you eat past 8 pm?
If you’re going to bed around 10 pm, I’d say stopping eating around 8 would be advisable for the reasons discussed here. If you’re going to bed later than that, I’d say it would be a good idea to stop eating a couple hours before your bedtime!
But not because your body will freak out and automatically store all your calories as fat, like you might have been led to believe 🙂