Often Hungry At Midnight? Know The Limits Of The Last Good Dinner For Health

Midnight dinner illustration (Pablo Merchan Montes / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Hunger often comes without knowing the time. Even though it's late at night, if hunger strikes you definitely don't hesitate to go to the dinner table and eat food to fill your hunger.

If you frequently eat meals late at night, you are at risk for digestive problems, nightmares or even weight gain. And now, during a pandemic almost everyone's routine has become disrupted. During a pandemic, everyone stays at home more often and messes up eating and sleeping hours. This habit may cause mealtimes to delay late at night and it will have an impact on health.

There's nothing wrong with snacking late at night, but Bethany Doerfler, a clinical research dietitian at Northwestern Medicine says it's important to set mealtimes so they minimize late-night snacking.

So when is the ideal time to stop eating before bed?

Doerfler suggests that 7:30 p.m. be the last meal limit. However, everyone's lifestyle is different.

"Ideally you should finish eating as early as possible. So that the body can fast for 12 or 13 hours while sleeping," said Doerfle quoted from HuffPost, Monday, May 3.

Added by Alexander Ford, a registered dietitian and doctor of osteopathy, the best time to stop eating depends on when you sleep, what kind of food you eat, and how much food you eat.

"I would suggest stopping your last meal about three to four hours before bedtime, so that the body can sleep through the night. This is based on the fact that it takes about four hours for the stomach to empty after a meal and larger, fatty foods may take some time. longer, "said Ford.

After eating straight to bed can cause many digestive problems, including indigestion and acid reflux. Indigestion or upset stomach sometimes occurs when you eat too much or too fast. Meanwhile, acid reflux occurs when some of the stomach acid content seeps into the esophagus.