What Is Night Eating Syndrome?

Available for Interviews: Dr. Franchell Hamilton

Dr. Franchell Hamilton, MD, FACS, FASMBS, FOMA is the Founder of NeuroSwitch™ Weigh Loss–a place for people to receive treatments ranging from bariatric surgery and medical weight loss to hormone therapy. Dr. Hamiltion is also the author of two books, Transformation Is a Mindset: The Journey to Changing Your Input and Your World and And the Best Diet Is . . . .

What Dr. Hamilton could say on
Night Eating Syndrom:

This is a real problem. People wake up in the middle of the night and binge eat.  Dr. Hamilton can talk about what this is and how to deal with it.

• • Night Eating Syndrome is an eating disorder in which a person consumes a large amount of food at night—at least 25% of their daily food intake. This takes place after dinner and/or occurs in the middle of the night, and sleep is typically interrupted.

• • This condition is prevalent in 1 in 10 people who are obese. 
  • People feel like they have to eat in order to go to bed and are fully awake when eating. They remember eating and often experience distress the following day that can negatively affect daily activities.
  • Another symptom of this syndrome is a depressed appetite during the day. Following an episode of night eating people with NES may not be hungry for breakfast or feel hungry until the afternoon.
  • This causes obesity and can lead to other medical problems like Hypertension and Diabetes.
  • A pre-existing condition of this syndrome is anxiety and depression. People who experience this syndrome report a depressed mood, particularly at night. People with NES can often feel shame, sadness, or embarrassment for not feeling they have control over their eating.
  • The treatment here is mind and body exercise, sleep hygiene techniques, and medications. Hormones that play a role in sleep that affect our circadian rhythm are also analyzed for optimal treatment.
  • A nutrition prescription is to avoid keeping foods in the home that are high in fat and sugar which can help in indulging in them at night.
  • Dr. Hamilton can also discuss night eating syndrome versus sleep-related eating disorders (one is aware the other is not).