Is there an optimal time to eat dinner? According to experts, you should eat dinner at least three hours before bedtime – this allows the food to be mostly digested before you turn in. It also ensures that your hormonal balance is maintained and you sleep well. By eating too close to bedtime, you risk some adverse effects:
Digestive problems: Lying down with a full stomach can disrupt the process of digestion and cause digestive problems such as heartburn, gas and acid reflux.
Weight gain: Eating late can also cause weight gain and lead to obesity. Studies show that if you eat close to bedtime when your activity level is low, your body is more likely to store the calories you consume as fat.
High blood pressure: New research suggests that eating dinner late can have an adverse effect on your blood pressure and your heart. Researchers at a Turkish university studied more than 700 men and women with high blood pressure, and found that those who ate within two hours of going to bed were almost twice as likely to suffer from ‘non-dipper hypertension’, when pressure fails to drop properly overnight. This can increase the risk to the heart. Turkish researcher Dr Ebru Özpelit, who presented her findings at the European Society of Cardiology congress in Rome in September 2016, recommends eating a light dinner by 7pm. If you eat later than this, your body is likely to remain on high alert instead of relaxing for sleep, she says. This can cause stress hormones to be secreted which keep blood pressure up when typically it should drop by 10 per cent during sleep.
Skipping breakfast: People who eat late also have a tendency to skip breakfast. This can cause you to make unhealthy food choices during the day which can increase your risk of obesity, high cholesterol and diabetes.
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