I really
understand why most of us are tired after a hard of work. So, after dinner, it’s
normal to envy resting and settle in…great idea! It preps our bodies for
relaxation and sleep. Unfortunately, if we lie down with a huge belly full of
food, we are putting a strain on our system. Now we all go through an
occasional night of over-eating, which may not be too much of a problem if it
only happens once in a while. However, making it a regular habit is a totally
different subject and it’s called Night Eating Syndrome. What is it exactly?
Night Eating Syndrome is defined as eating little to nothing in the
morning and throughout the day, and then binging at night (25% to 50% of daily
caloric needs) post regular dinnertime, and repeated almost every night.
The reason behind this behavior is highly
linked to emotional eating; eating because of stress and insomnia, sadness and
depression, anger and other different emotions that we go through every day. Night
Eating Syndrome is not only described as an eating disorder, but as
a mood disorder and sleep disorder as well. Many people suffering
from this disorder are unable to fall asleep until they give into their
cravings for food and start binge eating.
Japan,
China, India, the ancient Mayan cultures and many other traditional societies,
intuitively knew that eating late at night was not good for our digestive
systems. Our ideal digestion requires us to eat earlier, lighter dinners. Ayurvedic
and Chinese medicine, is that late evening and early morning hours are the time
for cleansing and healing the body. If we’re using the body’s energy to digest
food (which should have occurred during the active day-time hours), we are depriving
this body of precious cleansing time to help fight off disease, as well as heal
itself, naturally.
TOP 8 Night Tips
:
1. Eat a moderate breakfast and a heavier lunch. Then
a light dinner that still fulfills a healthy emotional “nourishing” component.
2. We've all heard
of warm milk's magical ability to send us off to dreamland. Do you know why
it's true? Dairy foods contain tryptophan, which is a sleep-promoting
substance. Other foods that are high in tryptophan include nuts and seeds,
bananas, honey, and eggs.
3. Carbohydrate-rich
foods complement dairy foods by increasing the level of sleep-inducing
tryptophan in the blood. So a few perfect late night snacks to get you snoozing
might include a bowl of cereal and milk, yogurt and crackers, or bread and
cheese.
4. If you struggle
with insomnia, a little food in your stomach may help you sleep. But don't use
this as an open invitation to pig out. Keep the snack small. A heavy meal will
tax your digestive system, making you uncomfortable and unable to get soothing
ZZZs.
5. Brush your teeth earlier! It may sound too simple,
but you may find that if you just brush your teeth
earlier than right before bed time, you’ll tend to eat less.
6. It's no
surprise that an evening cup of coffee might disrupt your sleep. But don't
forget about less obvious caffeine sources, like chocolate, cola and tea.
7. Protein, an
essential part of our daytime fare, is a poor choice for a bedtime snack.
Protein-rich foods are harder to digest.
8. When you feel like eating late at night, drink
a cup of warm herbal tea with raw honey. Hot liquids are soothing, warming and nourish
the emotions.
REACH YOUR GOALS WITH PASSION...
LIVE LIGHT . LIVE STRONG . LIVE SVELTE
