I tend, more often than not, to binge/overeat to help me sleep, something I recently realized. When I eat in a healthy manner throughout the day it is normally very, very hard to get to sleep without bingeing. I take Ambien(prescribed sleep medication) when I have to but I do not want to depend on it.

It seems when nighttime comes my need to binge is ramped way up. I've tried to not use bingeing or Ambien to help me sleep and I end up staying awake until daylight and then sleep most of my day away.

Any advice or suggestions?

Thanks so much,

Bonnie

It's a good start that you've realized that you binge to help you sleep. Now, maybe you should try to figure out the why of it. Can you not sleep because you're anxious, stressed, or something else? I used to have so much trouble sleeping, and I'm still working on it. I also used to wake up in the middle of the night and have to binge before I could go back to sleep. The reason I did it was because I had a lot of stress in my life, and I lived alone and that freaked me out. Night was the hardest for me (I was so busy during the day that I didn't have time to worry, but it came back with a vengence at night) so I took comfort in food. If you can figure out the WHY, you will have better success if you take care of the underlying problem. Since I've moved back with family and have less stress in my life, I can sleep so much better and don't have to binge for comfort.

While working on figuring out why, you can also try other things. Have a bedtime routine. I've found that stretching before bed can be very relaxing. Try prayer or meditation. I've also had success with sort of daydreaming while lying in bed. I just think of things that I'm looking forward to like imagining what a trip to England will be like when I'm healthy until I fall asleep. Make sure you're doing enough during the day to be tired at night and have a set time you go to bed and get up.

I hope this helps. If you let us know a little more about why you think you can't sleep, maybe we can offer more specific suggestions. I hope you can sleep well.

ohlove,
Thanks for the wonderful insight! I think the reason is probably being overwhelmed (I am a major, major procrastinator) and my house/yard and many other aspects of my life i.e. needing to look for addtional income, keeping in touch with family and friends, find and going to church etc. is overwhelming me with worry and anxiety. That is what my "gut" tells me it may be. I know it is something negative.

Have you tried Melatonin? It helps a lot of people sleep and it's natural. You can also try Valerian Root, which is a calming herb. I have also heard good things about GABA. Also, if you can, try to form a nighttime routine, avoid any caffeine past 2 or 3 pm (at least that makes it easier for me) and follow advice on circadian rythem. The concept is to expose yourself to a lot of light when you wake up first thing in the morning. As evening approaches, dim the lights and avoid using the computer (no way I can do that, but that's what I have heard...I think from Dr. Oz). Finally, rather than binge, maybe you can have a planned snack that you go to your room and eat right in bed. I know it sounds crazy but if you know it's waiting for you there, you might avoid going to the fridge repeatedly and you won't have to think about it and it'll make you feel full. Oh and you could try to meditate or pray for help. Sorry this is so choppy but I'm tired myself and am craving food yet can't sleep so this is the perfect reminder for me on what I should be doing as well.

I don't think there's anything wrong with taking medication to sleep. During my most recent diet journey, I would eat dinner, take my Seroquel and go to bed early. That was the only way I could unlearn the habit of night eating. While Seroquel can cause weight gain, I have lost almost 30 pounds using it.

Sleep is important with weight control in so many ways. Without sleep, the body's metabolism (and your mood) can get out of whack. I know Ambien can cause dependency, but using it as directed should be ok. You don't have to be the hero with your insomnia. And as other posters mentioned, there are alternatives to Ambien.

After I got out of the habit of night eating, I stopped taking my Seroquel right after dinner and now take it later. But on days where I don't feel strong, I'd rather go to bed at 9 pm than binge until midnight.

I should also mention that vigorous exercise in the morning or early evening works wonders for my sleep too.

i know how you feel. binge time for me has typically been in the late afternoon to evening/night time period. some things that i find can help are taking a relaxing warm bubble bath, reading a book, and trying to make sure i have exercised during the day to burn off any extra energy and anxiety. good luck and hang in there.

All I can say is--I've totally been there. I went through a period of a few months about 1.5 years ago where I was depressed, slept during the day, and couldn't sleep at night so to put myself to sleep, I'd binge. That carbo crash is a powerful sleep aid--which tells me that it's really not healthy!

I'd do something to find a routine, and cut out all caffiene if you do partake in that--even if it's hard. I think that the first few days of establishing a routine that has to do with regulating sleep are the hardest. I'd find a way to get out of the house during the day (this helped me a lot) so that you can't sleep (at home, the temptation is so easy!).

Good luck!

Thanks so much for all the wonderful advice and suggestions!! Your support is priceless.

Have a great Thursday!

Bonnie

Hi Bonnie,

Just wanted to ask a few questions. Approx. how many nights per week do you take the ambien? And when you take it, do you go right to bed or do you stay up for a bit until you begin to feel drowsy and feel the ambien taking effect? Does the binging/over-eating occur after you take the ambien? Or does it only occur when you don't take the ambien?

The reason I'm asking is that I have a sibling who takes sleeping medication (including ambien).....and she seems to go into binge mode shortly after she takes it (between the time she takes the medication and the time she goes to bed). And she's gained a significant amount of weight due to this.
She does great all day....then takes her sleeping meds....then binges...and then finally goes to bed.

She also did this when the doctor had her on seroquel at bedtime....she would take the seroquel....then binge...and then go to bed when the real drowsiness kicked-in. In fact, seroquel is notorious for causing this.....and it apparently has some sort of effect on the blood sugar.

And I researched some of this and turns out that it can be fairly common for binge behavior to occur after people have taken sleeping meds/seroquel. And ambien has somewhat of an amnesiac effect and the person's judgment is a bit off. And for the poster who related the story about the seroquel here....good for you for going right to bed! You probably saved yourself many binges by doing that! It's much better to go right to bed after taking these medications rather than staying up until the drowsiness kicks-in and risking some serious binge behavior.

deena

Hi Bonnie, the surest solution is to ask your medical practitioner to refer you to a specialist so that the neurological issues at work can be looked at in depth.

Thanks all again for their posts!

My binge eating started long before I started taking Ambien actually the Ambien helps me to combat the bingeing as it makes me relax enough to get to sleep. I have done alot of thinking before and after I submitted this thread and I know now, with almost certainty, that the problem with bingeing so much at night comes from being overwhelmed with different issues in my life which I am working on. I think I knew this was the reason but after reading the posts here and doing some real soul searching it "rings true". I guess this cements my reasoning that the little voice inside us(a whisper as Oprah says) is something we really need to stand up and take notice to. I knew there was something wrong because of the night binge eating but I never let myself really listen to the reasons maybe because I was hoping that there would be an easy answer but I know nothing worthwhile(eating/being healthier) comes easy but is definetly worth it.

Thanks again all for listening.