Hi Everyone:

I can't post links yet or I would, but I recently read a study by Kelly Allison and Alan Stunkard (if you google them, you can find it) on Night Time Eating Syndrome. I think many people do most of their snacking at night, but for me, it goes beyond that. I can eat more calories after dinner and through the night than I can during the day. I also eat when I wake up in the night--often 2 or 3 times, I HAVE to eat to get back to sleep. When my husband and I started living together, he nicknamed me the Kit Kat Burglar because we would wake up and find empty Kit Kat wrappers in a trail from the kitchen to the bedroom.

A while ago, I stopped drinking alcohol because I thought it was contributing to the problem. Even 1 or 2 glasses of wine set me on an accelerated binge. But even without alcohol, I do it.

There is a book out by the docs who read the study, and I intend to check it out today, but until then, I wanted to see if anyone else has heard of this and wants to discuss it.

By all means, if a thread has been started specific to this issue, I can delete this one (I think I can). Thanks a lot!!!

Oh Gosh! I thought I was the only one out there that did this! Yes, it is especially aggrivated when I drink alcohol, even just a little bit. Just like you said, there are nights when I consume more calories at night than I do during the day!

i have heard of that. even ppl that sleep walking in the middle of the night and eat with no recollection in the morning. i'm grateful i don't have that, i have enough trouble controlling my intake without a sleep disorder causing me to eat as well. heh

I know night time eating is common, but I think binge eating disorders can be treat equally no matter what time the eating occurs.

Thanks, LolaBlue - it is always nice to find someone to relate to. I am going to read more about this.

I certainly am not a doctor or a psychologist so I personally don't know if all binge eating disorders would be treated the same and I certainly wouldn't assume that. In fact, I think the reason why there is so much need to understand the specific sub-types of disorders is to target treatment rather than assume everyone is the same and blanket them with a 1-sized-fits all approach.

I am hopeful that at least this has been identified, and I can talk to my doctor about it and learn more. I will do anything I can--explore every option--to get help for this.

My mom actually has that. I remember one time we found a bunch of saltine cracker wrappers all around, and mom thought we had mice that were getting into the cupboard, dragging them out, opening the packages and eating the food...until my grandma pointed out, "Well, those mice must be pretty smart, because they didnt chew through the wrappers...they tore them open!"

She also came into my room at 2 in the morning asking me if I want a piece of cheesecake. She was very "out of it", but I thought it was due to her medication she was taking. It turns out she was actually asleep and on a rampage for the kitchen.

Since stopping her medication she hasn't been having the episodes as often. But it's very discouraging for her, especially since she too has been trying to lose weight.

I saw a programme about it once but I don't remember very much about it.
They filmed a few different people who sleepwalked to eat. This one woman used to get up and even have ready meals, microwave them and everything.

Because they were asleep still they had no idea what they had eaten until they found the wrappers in the morning. The woman that they filmed was really upset when she watched it back, because of the fact she was watching herself having no control and completely binging.

This is a major problem for me. I don't eat for maintenance during the day and then wake up almost every night to eat. I would like to lose a couple more pounds, although I am at the bottom of my range (I was anorexic 5 years ago, but am now at a healthy weight). I find that I am afraid to eat more during the day because I know that I will get up in the middle of the night no matter what.

Night time eating and waking up in the middle of the night to eat have been huge problems for me for quite awhile. I have the same thing where I have to eat to go back to sleep and sometimes I am so sleepy I don't even realize what I am doing until the morning. I really hate it.