It’s either those late night shifts or poor concentration in diet during daytime that leads to an impulsive late night craving and binging. If you feel that’s you then you’re not alone. A survey reported that on an average 97% women and 68% men experience late night cravings. So, what’s the issue when you munch in during night times?
The problem is that our body is the least active when it comes closer to bedtime or night time irrespective of whether we’ve got work or have to stay awake. The more you consume during this time, the more it gets stored as fat , as your body is too tired for digestion. So ultimately this results in extra calories leading to weight gain and other similar issues. Let’s dive into some of the causes and how we can tame it.
Help Balance Those Hormones
If you’re someone who is low on sleep, high on pre-processed foods and stress, then you might more likely be a victim of hormonal imbalance that impacts your insulin and affects the stability of your blood sugar levels which could be behind those late night cravings in addition to causing weight gain and obesity and acne. This could be tackled by getting adequate sleep, sweating it out regularly along with increasing the consumption of omega-3s along with ensuring that you eat clean and drink some good amount of water.
Deficient Nutrition
In most cases, under consumption of nutrients in the diet leads you to crave for those lost consumption during night time. This often occurs with people who are overly diet conscious and concentrate on quantity of the diet rather than the quality.Also, if you have your dinner quite earlier say at around 6pm then it’s common to feel a craving around 11-12pm due to the long interval after dinner. In these cases, make sure you consume more protein, that can reduce your hunger pangs and keep you full for long and utilize a meal plan that helps you stay on track and be mindful of what you eat and occasionally munch on healthy snacks especially after dinner so you don’t feel like munching on later in the night.
Blood Sugar Trigger
Your blood sugar level fluctuations can often lead to making you feel hungry at odd times. Typically what happens here is, when your blood sugar level is low, your brain sends out a signal indicating that your body needs to recharge.However this feeling is quite normal, when occurring occasionally.But if it repeats, then, it could be signs of hyperglycemia, a condition where your blood sugar level is lower than normal, in which case it’s better to approach a physician.
Dissatisfactory Dehydration
Most of the time our body confuses thirst for hunger and could send waves that make you crave for intake. In these cases, what our body actually needs is a glass of water, hence always drink a glass of water when you crave for consumption, because that’s what your body might be wanting and can help you avoid those extra calories. Make sure to consume enough water during the day and in between your meals such that you are free from those thirst triggers which might make you crave. Choose smoothies, soups and juices that can hydrate and be filling at the same time helping you have a healthy routine.
Shush That Stress
Excessive stress is as dangerous to our body as it is to our mind. When you’re ultimately stressed, excess of cortisol, the stress hormone is produced which tricks our body into thinking that it needs more energy to combat whatever is stressing the body which automatically designs those cravings to want for high calorie foods and alcohol that might provide temporary relief. So the best way to avoid this situation is to de-stress yourself by practicing mindfulness, choosing a healthier distraction and get some moves like stretching, yoga or a shower before bed that might help calm you and avoid those cravings.
