Does it matter when we eat dinner? Is it advisable to adjust the daily routine to the mealtime or the opposite? Should someone who goes out for sports exactly during their free evening hours eat before the activity or after? These questions have been coming up recently more than ever, probably both due to the growing awareness of nutrition, and also because quite a few studies are being published on the connection between dinner time and our sleep quality, insulin levels during the night and the risk of diabetes, and even on weight loss.
So I checked the studies, and here are several health effects that have been linked to mealtime and are worth paying attention to:
Blood sugar levels
The body's sensitivity to insulin (which is essentially the hormone that moves sugar from the blood into our body cells) is at its peak in the morning hours. Slowly but surely throughout the day it decreases, and it is at its lowest level during the evening and night hours.
Not only that – melatonin, the sleep hormone in all its glory, takes care of reducing insulin levels when it is dark and when it is time to start winding down for sleep.
What does this mean? That if you eat late at night, the high blood sugar levels "meet" low insulin levels, which leaves the blood sugar high for hours, causes metabolic stress and a risk of diabetes. According to certain studies, dinner after 22:00 causes a blood glucose peak that is 18–30% higher compared to an early meal.
Risk of weight gain
Weight gain, as it turns out, is not only from excess calorie consumption... but also from the hour at which the calories were consumed. True, ultimately what matters most is how much we ate during the day compared to how much we burned that day, but
Pay attention to this: Late eating causes the body to burn more carbohydrates for energy and reduce fat burning during the night, and also on the following day.
According to certain studies, this difference can reach up to burning about 300 calories less from fat on the day following the late dinner.
Regulation of hunger and satiety
Food consumption close to sleep causes a decrease in the levels of the satiety hormone (leptin) and an increase in the levels of the hunger hormone (ghrelin) on the following day. This naturally causes higher calorie consumption, according to studies – mainly from carbohydrate-rich foods.
Digestive system health
The body wants to rest at night, and so does our digestive system. Late eating places a heavy burden on the entire digestive tract, especially on the stomach, which has to churn and churn and break down and digest. The food might get stuck in it for a longer time, causing refluxes, heartburn, and an unpleasant sensation. Especially if one is in a lying position after the meal.
According to studies, a meal within a range of 3 hours before sleep causes more refluxes during the night compared to eating 4 hours before sleep. This situation is felt more as age increases. The refluxes can cause a decrease in sleep quality, and prolong the time it takes to fall asleep.
So what do we eat in the evening?
When talking about a "late dinner", the intention is not a small snack, but a full and relatively heavy meal. A meal that includes a combination of large quantities, fat, and carbohydrates, for example pasta with cream sauce, pizza, fatty meat with side dishes, fried food or even a large salad with a lot of cheese and dressing.
The problem with such meals in the late evening hours is twofold: Both a high caloric load, and also a burden on the digestive system exactly at the time when the body is preparing for rest.
Conversely, it is important to emphasize that not all nighttime eating is problematic. If there is real hunger before sleep, it is actually preferable not to ignore it. A small night snack, easy to digest, which is based mainly on protein and fat – could be a good choice, for example: Yogurt, cheese, a handful of nuts, or something small of that style.
It is better to eat something small and easy to digest than to go to sleep with a stomach "rumbling" from hunger, which by itself can reduce sleep quality.
So basically the difference is in the quantity and type of food: A large and mixed meal is less suitable for the night, but a small snack can definitely be integrated without causing harm, and even help with satiety and maintaining muscle mass.
Recommendations
There is no single hour that is right for everyone, but the studies recommend moving dinner earlier to 19:00. Try to eat dinner as early as possible, and in any case at least 3 hours before sleep.
You can eat a "smart" night snack of proteins and fat, even fifteen minutes before going to sleep. This can be something small like yogurt with a tablespoon of oatmeal/berries, a handful of almonds or nuts, a cup of cooked chickpeas, sugar-free halva. The fat and protein in these snacks help moderate the glucose response.
If you do sports during the evening, try to split the meal – something small that will give energy and satiety before the sports, and only another small thing after the activity. This helps avoid a meal that is too heavy right before sleep.
If you suffer from binges and non-stop snacking during the evening hours, maybe it is simply better to brush your teeth thoroughly at 20:00 or 21:00 and decide that after that you simply do not touch anything. This is a much more important health investment than it seems to us.
In conclusion, it is important to remember: Even if there is an advantage to early eating, ultimately the daily calorie total is still the central factor in body weight.