Nocturnal Sleep Related Eating Disorder

This may sound very strange to many of us that have never experienced a sleepwalking occurrence or even been around a person that sleepwalks, but some individuals actually get up in the middle of the night, while asleep, go into the kitchen, and fix something to eat without even knowing they are doing so. This is known as Nocturnal Sleep Related Eating Disorder or NS-RED.
A person with Nocturnal Sleep Related Eating Disorder can get out of bed, walk into the kitchen fix a sandwich complete with all the fixings, pour a glass of milk, sit at the table, enjoy every last drop of the sandwich, go back to bed, and wake up in the morning not knowing they were up the night before.
Another sleep related eating disorder is known as night eating syndrome. With this condition, a person is fully awake and realizes they are eating during the night, but they are unable to fall back to sleep unless they eat.
Both disorders have similarities with the only real difference being that a person with night eating syndrome is fully awake and knows they are eating while a person with Nocturnal Sleep Related Eating Disorder is asleep and does not recall eating.
Symptoms of both Nocturnal Sleep Related Eating Disorder and Night Eating Syndrome include:
No appetite in the morning
Little appetite for breakfast
Eating more food after dinner than at the dinner table, this includes eating about half of the normal intake of food after dinnertime.
Having this eating pattern for at least two months
Individuals with either of these sleeping disorders can become overweight and develop Type II diabetes. The disorders are more often seen in women. About 1 to 3% of the entire population has this condition. A few people with sleep related eating disorders have a history of alcoholism, drug addiction, and other sleep disorders. Many times, dieters are prone to sleep related eating disorders due to the fact that they are hungry when they go to sleep.
If you believe you have a sleep related eating disorder, you should talk with your doctor. If you are on diet, learn what foods to eat that will fulfill your hunger pains so you are not hungry throughout the night, and begin a bedtime routine.
A bedtime routine can help some individuals especially if the eating is done during sleepwalking. In order to begin your bedtime routine, you should first invest in a few sleeping aids such as a white noise machine or tabletop waterfall fountain. Both of these will aid you in falling asleep and sleeping throughout the night. Remember, your bedroom should be dark and cool without any distractions such as a television.
Labels: Night Eating Syndrome, Nocturnal Sleep Related Eating Disorder, sleep disorders, sleep problems, waterfall tabletop fountains, white noise machines






