If I had understood growth hormones earlier in my life I would have stopped bedtime snacks decades ago. Relaxing before bed with food, has more effect on your weight than you may realize. * pix

Bedtime Snacks Affect Children and Adults Differently

How the human body processes food changes as wel become adults. A simple milk and crackers before bed for a child can be lovely. The same snack for an adult can cause unexpected weight issues.

Children produce a growth hormone throughout a 24 hour period because, well, they are growing! But adults only produce the growth hormone when they are asleep.  

Growth hormone supports your bone and muscle health. A bedtime snack stops the production of that hormone and that creates a loss of muscle mass and a reduction in bone building - both major issues in our society as we age. These are also health issues that affect people with eating disorders or disordered eating of any kind.

Eating a bedtime snack, actually eating two or three hours before going to sleep, tells the pancreas to produce insulin to deal with the increase in blood sugar.

The insulin inhibits the nocturnal burst of growth hormone. So we weaken our muscles and bone by eating bedtime snacks..

Good news: Now that I know this I don't have bedtime snacks. I sleep better and am stronger. Perhaps this information will influence your nighttime snacking too. 

What Really Happens to Your Body When You Eat Late at Night

To Eat or Not to Eat. The Midnight Snack Debate

Best and Worst Late-Night Snacks for Your Health


Joanna Poppink, MFT, private practice psychotherapist, Specializing in eatng disorder, PTSD and Anxiety recovery. 

E-mail for free telephone consultation. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Author: Healing Your Hungry Heart: recovering from your eating disorder





* pix

Français : Pour les projets qui deviennent inactifs, mettre cette photo avec la boîte utilisateur d'avertissement.
Date 3 December 2011
Source Own work
Author Exolune (et Astroscienco [Vikipedio])

This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.