Doctors say this is a real illness, not sure I believe it. Oh, by the way I have it, but I don't want it anymore. I get up every night and eat. I am not hungry but I eat. It is usually something like crackers or lunchmeat and crackers, sometimes something sweet. If anyone out there can help me with this I would appreciate it.

Usually people with night eating syndrome are not really aware that they get up and eat. They only realize it the next day when they find empty Twinkie wrappers on the counter or whatever, or they "wake up" standing in front of the freezer with a spoon and carton of ice cream and don't know how they got there. It seems to be a combination of an eating disorder and a sleep disorder. If you are fully aware of getting up and eating, then you probably don't have it.

One thing that sometimes helps both types is to eat more during the early part of the day. Whatever amount of calories you are consuming, make breakfast and lunch your main meals, but leave enough for a decent dinner and a small snack in the evening. It may take some time, but you should be able to "reset" your eating clock if you stick with it.

ohhh, I saw something on T.V. about this. I think it was a talk show. (I was watching T.V. Big Suprise ) These people who suffered from this not only had no idea that they were sleep eating, but they had no idea what they were eating. There was one poor woman who was eating raw baccon and mayonais!! She put a camera in her kitchen to catch herself eating when she noticed pieces of food in her mayonais. YUCK!

I don't have anything like that, but I do get the munchies late at night. My eating clock is backwards aswell. I don't eat breakfast, I might eat lunch, then pig out the rest of the night on junk. Which would explain why I'm 300 pounds I guess

My first official weigh in is tomorrow morning! I hope I lost something, I've been very carefull these past two weeks. Wish me luck

I too have the same problem. I actually did a sleep study and everything came back just fine. They said the problem was probably underlying and gave me the number to a mental health therapist. I never called them, but i can definately tell I get up to eat more when i am stressed. I believe that plays a great part in the problem.
I have actually done lots of internet research on this problem too and have come up with absolutely no solutions. I don't think anyone has actually found a cause or a solution yet.

if you are aware if it.....then it is not likely night eating syndrom....as mentioned above....sometimes people eat at night due to reflux there is a vague kind of grumble or burn in the tummy that feels like hunger ...it is can be acid and eating things like bread or crackers helps when you are half a sleep....try some tums and see what happens....(this is not medical advise just a thought)

i realize this is an old post, but i thought i should resurrect it.

actually, what you are talking about (not being aware of eating while sleeping) is more likely nocturnal sleep-eating disorder. night eating syndrome is usually a conscious thing. it's a compulsion to keep eating where there is no such compulsion during the day and only at night. they believe it's hormonal. here's an article describing these:

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/...isorders/89879

I find that the harder I try to diet, meaning really limiting my caloires I wake up in the middle of the night and eat.

Also, 2 days before my period I wake up and eat, then the day my period arrives I am okay.

Its weird, when I wake up I'm not really awake until I have that spoon full of peanut butter stuffed in my face, I'm fully aware of what I'm doing. I find that if I sit up in bed, wait a few minutes and really try to talk myself out of it..... it works.

I do this sometimes, too. It's almost like if I wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom or let the dogs out or whatever, I almost feel that I HAVE to go and eat something. Luckily, my house is a junk-free zone so my choices are usually limited to a protein shake, a bowl of Special K, or some baby carrots, so I'm not doing too much damage during this midnight munch-fests. My personal trainer thinks it indicates days when I haaven't been getting enough calories, and I think for the most part she's right. Because I am usually VERY hungry when I do this.

But I'm also going to start taking Leenie's advice...do what I need to do (bathroom, dogs out, whatever) and then sit for a while to make sure I actually AM hungry.

I have NES, and so does my mother and my grandmother. I wake up almost exactly 45 minutes to one hour after falling asleep and sometimes I am aware of the eating and can stop or monitor it, sometimes I am aware of the eating and don't give a s&*^, other times I have no memory at ALL of the event, and am only aware of it due to crumbs, a mess in the kitichen, or crumbs in my mouth (yuck).

I was taking a pill called Trazadone in very small doses, and it helped. I also tend to not have as many events when I cut out sugar, sugar triggers something in my system that has me wake up. Exercise helps, when my sleep is better it is not as bad. If I am hungry before I go to bed, then I try to have some kind of protein, because if I go to bed hungry, I will definately wake up and eat. I have some cheese, or yogurt, I stay away from fruit or other things that will peak my blood sugar, that seems to help.

I believe this has a physiological basis, but that it can be controlled to an good extent. Anyhow, that has been my experience with it and it took me years and hundreds of things to try to find what worked for me. It sucks, and it is horrible when you eat well all day and then you wake up the next morning and find that you ate crap and ruined all of the accomplisments of the day before.......just remember, it is just another obstacle to overcome....