Midnight snacks=better than afternoon snacks

Late night cravings. Why does everything taste better at night? Why do we munch of random snacks when we aren’t even particularly hungry? I constantly find myself rummaging through my snack drawers at night trying to think of yummy concoctions in order to satisfy my cravings. But why?

Sometimes this late night hunger derives from boredom. Other times it could be from nutritional imbalance in which case your body will send hunger signals at night. More specifically, our bodies release certain hormones that influence the beginning of the late night munching. The hormone cortisol tells the liver to release sugar and when we stay awake we tend to eat in order to make up for the blood sugar drop. Another example is the hormone gherkin, otherwise known as the “hunger hormone”. This hormone is produced more at night when our body stops releasing leptin. When ghrelin is released our minds automatically turn to calories for help and satisfaction.

When it comes to the unhealthy vs healthy snacks, our minds in their sleepy states lose the decision making skills we possess during the day therefore resulting in choosing unhealthier choices. To stay away from these late night cravings try to drink more water at night, or simply try to fall asleep.

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http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/09/the-science-of-the-midnight-snack/380510/

https://experiencelife.com/article/the-hidden-causes-of-late-night-snacking/

4 thoughts on “Midnight snacks=better than afternoon snacks

  1. Adelaide Christine Edgett

    To be quite honest, one of my best friends and I just annihilated almost an entire bag of pizza rolls and it is almost 3 am. There comes a point, in my opinion, after a night of revelry, you need some munchies. With the restricted diet that comes with being in college, many people will eat when it is convenient. For many, this is late at night. Is it health? No. But have you ever had flaming hot cheetos at 3am? It’s Godlike because of the level of hunger you feel..

  2. Melanie Noemi Campos

    I found this blog interesting because of the topic seeing as i am guilty as charged when it comes to midnight snacking. I tend to get hungry just as i am winding down in bed, often times i reach for a snack and other times i wait until the morning and tell myself that it is just a way to distract myself at night. However i do not agree that it is better to snack at night than it is throughout the day. I feel as though snacking throughout the day could lead you to indulge less on your meals and will prevent over eating at one or two meals. I feel as though this topic needs more research done before a conclusion can be reached. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/ist/?next=/science-nature/midnight-snacking-bad-your-brain-180954295/ This article states that snacking is not as beneficial as you might think.

  3. Michael Robert Szawaluk

    I do like the concept of this post because as I am finishing up this assignment, I am currently munching on Honey Mustard and Onion Pretzel Pieces. I have always heard that eating late at night can cause weight gain and be overall unhealthy for your body. However, I do not see a clear hypothesis from your blog. Some questions you might ask could be, how are midnight snacks better than afternoon snacks, and how could eating at such a late time be related to your overall health? As I was curious about some of this information and was worried if i should stop eating I decided to do some research. I found that eating before bed can actually be detrimental to your sleeping patterns in numerous ways. In addition I came to find that sleep deprivation can lead to poor eating habits. (No wonder I eat like pig!) To find out more on how you should conduct your daily eating routine read here, http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/best-time-to-eat.

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