Night Eating Syndrome was first recognized back in 1955 and reported in The American Journal of Medicine but it is only in the past few years that more attention has been paid to it and research conducted into the syndrome.

NES is characterized by eating comforter foods that are high in sugar and fat such as biscuits, bread, milk drinks and ice cream during the evening and overnight. It is different from binge eating where a lot of food is eaten at one sitting. NES is continual eating over time.

The longer NES is suffered the more likely it is that weight gain will be an issue. There is some debate as to whether it is an eating disorder, a sleep disorder or both. Some of the other symptoms suffered can be sleep walking, other sleeping disturbances such as waking frequently or unable to get to sleep, sleep apnea and restless legs.

Anyone who suffers from night eating disorders clearly understands what I was going through. Not only was it embarrassing, it was starting to get more and more dangerous.

Millions of people go through the same routine each night, binging on foods when they least expect it, throwing them off their diet plans or gaining pounds and not understanding the root cause.

The nocturnal raiding of the refrigerator after everyone has gone to bed was one of the things that small children often looked forward to doing when becoming adults.

In the past there were commercials that addressed midnight snacking as well as more than a few sitcom episodes. It was laughed about and expected rather than what it is now-something stigmatized and labeled as a syndrome.

Causes

Midnight feasts were an institution when I was at boarding school especially around birthdays when parcels of delectable delights arrived. We gorged ourselves silly and woke the next morning with an indulgence hangover, crumbs in the bed and not feeling like breakfast.

People suffering from this disorder are not conscious during such episodes. The food consumed during the disorder periods are most likely to be high-fat, high-sugar food that people usually avoid when they're awake. This eating disorder might happen most of the time that it would show significant gain in your weight.

Midnight binges and nocturnal sleep related eating disorder all are variations of this syndrome. Many obese night eaters reported that they believed their tendency to snack at night preceded their weight gain. People with this disorder typically wake up between one and four times each night and snack on about 300 calories worth of food.

The problem with things like late night eating is that they become a habit. Habits are by their nature difficult to overcome and get rid of.

By retraining your mind to 'look the other way' or ignore the habitual nature of eating at night you are leaving yourself free to do something other than giving in to your disorder and finding something to eat. Make your plans today and find the overeating help you need to overcome night eating syndrome for good.

Make a point to eat 3 good meals during the day with 1 or 2 between meal snacks. A lot of us try to eat too few calories during the day only to binge late at night. Make a point to eat most of your calories before 6 PM so that you are not tempted to snack late at night.

Take a walk, go for a stroll around the neighborhood with your spouse, or make a regular walking date with a friend. You will not only burn calories but you will be farther away from the fridge and help to stop late night eating.

Go through your kitchen and hide your junk food. Much of late night eating after dinner can be avoided by hiding the junk food. Put foods that you're prone to eat late at night out of sight. Better yet, don't buy junk food at all, though this may not be possible if you have kids.

Next up, you should be thinking about satiety. If you are sticking within your calorie budget for the day with your late night eating, this means you're likely not eating as much as you should be during the day. That in itself is one big factor that could cause weight gain as it will increase the chances that you binge.

As obesity rates soar, it makes sense that we are seeing more attention focused on overeating help for those who suffer with night eating syndrome and are drawn to eat in the late hours of the night. Who knew that this would someday be behavior that is considered a disorder.

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