2023-12-13 18:52:42
Many people tend to eat at night, especially in front of the television screen while watching a movie. In some cases, this behavior is pathological and indicates what is known as “night eating syndrome.”
Dr. Martin Teufel believes that night eating syndrome falls within the category of eating disorders, which means eating a lot of food at night, at least 25% of the total daily calories, and often waking up from sleep to eat, at a rate of no less than 25% of the total daily calories. About twice a week for 3 months.
Psychological factors
The director of the Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy Clinic at LVR University Hospital in Essen, Germany, explained that night eating syndrome is often linked to psychological factors such as psychological stress, anxiety disorder, and depression, as the person suffering from this syndrome finds psychological comfort in eating food. at night, but at the same time he suffers from feelings of remorse and guilt because of his behavior.
Hormonal imbalance
For her part, Professor Anya Hilbert explained that a person suffering from night eating syndrome often suffers from an imbalance in the sleep/wake rhythm, and also suffers from an imbalance in the sleep hormone “melatonin” and the satiety hormone “leptin.”
The professor of behavioral medicine at the University Hospital in Leipzig, Germany, added that a person suffering from night eating syndrome often suffers from obesity, which in turn raises the risk of diabetes and high blood pressure and the resulting heart attacks and strokes.
Psychiatric treatment
Hilbert pointed out that night eating syndrome can be treated through psychological treatment such as cognitive behavioral therapy, during which the patient learns the reasons that lead him to eat a lot at night and works to change his behavior to confront this disorder.
In addition, light therapy can also be used, which helps adjust the sleep/wake rhythm.
Light therapy is a treatment that involves a person sitting near a special light source every morning for at least 30 minutes, and it has an effect on mood.
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