Nutrition is one of the most basic needs, but foods consumed in some time periods that do not match our physiology bring to mind the question "does meal time affect mental health?". According to researches, it has been observed that foods consumed especially late at night are not good for both body and mental health. Especially the mental state of people working at night is significantly affected.
Mealtimes affect mental health and disrupt sleep patterns.
According to some studies conducted in the USA, the psychological health of people working night shifts depends on eating during the day rather than at night. Eating time has a significant impact on mental health, especially for people who work at night.
The hormone balance of the unique human body fluctuates in a way characteristic of the natural sleep-wake cycle. The natural sleep-wake cycle is also referred to as the circadian rhythm, which repeats every 24 hours.
Is it Harmful to Eat at Night?
Eating late at night interferes with metabolism and affects weight control as well as mental health. In addition, people who work in a shift cycle tend to have a higher body mass index and higher waist-hip levels than people who work during the day.
In a study conducted in the USA, 19 participants who worked in shifts were identified and studied for 2 weeks. They were divided into two groups: one group was fed both during the day and at night, while the other group was fed only during the day.
However, care was taken to ensure that conditions such as calorie expenditure, sleep time and physical activity were the same between the two groups. The day and night feeding group showed a 26 percent increase in mood levels such as depression and a 16 percent increase in anxiety levels. No mood differences were found in the group fed only during the daytime. In addition, these mood differences were more pronounced in individuals who did not follow the sleep-wake cycle.
Thus, the timing of feeding during night work had moderate to large effects on the mood of depression and anxiety-like states. There was evidence that such effects were linked to the degree of disruption of the internal sleep-wake cycle. These findings provide evidence that intervening with meal timing can prevent mood vulnerability in shift work environments.
What are the Underlying Causes of Night Eating?
Some individuals who eat at night may wake up several times during the night to feed themselves. In addition, people who work at night may also tend to eat late at night. Since these people wake up full in the morning, they may not want to eat at noon or even in the evening. Since most of the foods consumed after eating in the evening or after waking up at night are high in carbohydrates, fat or sugar, they can cause excessive weight gain.
Night eating can occur in all age groups, and it has been observed that cravings increase during times of high stress, especially during life transitions. Problems such as work boredom or difficulty managing stress, carrying more responsibility than the individual can handle, family miscommunication, limitation and not having enough time for oneself are among the factors that predispose to night eating problems.
Eating problems can lead to many causes that endanger health. Therefore, it is necessary to get support from a specialist in the treatment process. Psychological help is very effective in the treatment process of eating problems. Therefore, a specialist psychotherapist should be examined. In addition, support from a nutritionist can be obtained at certain times by determining the needs of the person in this process.