Similar to nocturnal eating syndrome, sleep eating disorders include sleep disruption, eating in the night, and sometimes even binging and purging without waking up.
Sleep eating disorders are different from "nocturnal eating syndrome" in one main way: nocturnal eating syndrome involves full recall the following day of eating in the night. It's an eating syndrome that is connected with insomnia. In contrast, sleep eating disorders appear not to be related to insomnia, though they involve eating in the night.
Sleep eaters are becoming more common, and sleep eating disorders are more researched all the time.
If you have sleep eating disorder you may not remember eating in the night – but there's evidence on your pillow, face, bed, and kitchen. Or you're aware you're sleep-eating but can't stop yourself. You're not hungry; you're driven not just to eat but sometimes even cook full meals in the middle of the night. This is the crux of sleep eating disorders.
According to Carlos H. Schenck, M.D. in his book Sleep: The Mysteries, The Problems, and the Solutions sleep-eaters make up 2-3% of the US population. More specifically, 1% struggles with sleep-related eating disorder and another 1-2% have night-eating syndrome. Sleep eating disorders affect many people.
Donna's Sleep Eating Disorder
"It's the most frustrating, defeating feeling to know that you've done it again. It's almost like an addiction…I'd wake up with piles of wrappers in bed; chocolate melted on my face, on my sheets and pillowcases, in the pockets of my robe; peanuts in my mouth…it's a horrible feeling to way up and know you couldn't stop yourself." – Donna (excerpted from Schenck's book). Sleep eating disorders make you feel you're out of control.
Characteristics of Sleep Eating Disorders:
Involuntarily getting out of bed and raiding the fridge or cupboards (sleep-eating).
Varying levels of consciousness during sleep-eating.
Varying levels of recall the next day.
Many eating binges during one night, or one binge every few nights. Variable, depending on the sleep eating disorder.
No feelings of hunger, thirst, or pain. Eating in the night isn't often painful.
Strange combinations of food: raw meat or condiments like ketchup or canola oil, and nonfoods like soap, handcream and buttered cigarettes! Comfort foods aren't always part of sleep eating disorders.
Complex food preparation such as slicing, dicing, and even cooking.
Evidence in the kitchen and bedroom the next day after a sleep eating binge.
No alcohol consumption for most people who eat in the night.
Few instances of smoking during sleep-eating. Sleep eating disorders usually involve food (not cigarettes or alcohol).
People at Risk for Sleep Eating Disorder Have:
A family history of sleep disorders, night terrors, sleepwalking and sleep eating disorders.
Personal history of eating disorders.
Quit smoking, taking drugs, or abusing alcohol. Sleep eaters may be stressed.
Experienced extreme stress (sleep eating often starts during stress, but may not abate after the initial period of stress is over).
Taken tricyclic antidepressants or other medications. Sleep eating disorders may be triggered by medication.
Researchers Are Learning More About Sleep Eating Disorders
Sleep eating disorders tend to have a gradual onset. Of the reported cases of sleep-eaters, 75% are women and the average age is mid-20's.
If you wake up in the morning confronted with the evidence of food or eating at night, you're not alone! Sleep eating disorders are becoming more common. Sleep-eaters are now researched and studied. Carlos H. Schenck's book Sleep: The Mysteries, The Problems, and the Solutions is an excellent introduction to sleep eating disorders, sleep eating, and nocturnal eating syndrome.
The copyright of the article Sleep Eating Disorders in Psychology is owned by Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen. Permission to republish Sleep Eating Disorders in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
Sometimes I feel like I am the only one in the whole world that will wake
up and eat. Cookies, fruit snacks, breads, peanuts....you name it. I wake
up in the morning feeling disgusting and tired. I am fully aware in the
middle of the night what I am doing but I just cant seem to stop myself.
This disorder for me has gotten worse since the birth of my child 3 years
ago. I tell myself every night that I am not going to do it but I still
do. I have even gone as far as putting notes on the fridge and counter
that say "DRINK WATER" and "DO NOT EAT, YOU WILL GET FATTER
THEN YOU ALREADY ARE" Nothing helps. I feel very discouraged when I
wake up and face the day knowing that I failed again. I am so desperate
for help that does not involve an antidepressant or pill of some type. I
have a very addictive personality and do not need something else to get
myself hooked on. My husband and I have been trying to get pregnant for
over 2 years now and I am starting to wonder if this on and off sleep and
eating in the middle of the night has something to do with it. PLEASE
HELP!!!
Sep 25, 2008 8:40 AM
Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen
:
I'm sorry to hear about your struggle -- but I don't think help can be
found online. I think you need to talk to your doctor, or get a referral
to a counselor or psychologist. They may not prescribe antidepressants, but
they could have other options that help.
You could also consider
seeing a naturopath...
I'm sorry I can't be more helpful, but I
don't think there's anything I can tell you. You need help in person, from
a qualified professional.
Keep me posted - I'm hoping you get
the help you need and deserve!
Nov 13, 2008 5:44 AM
Guest
:
don't feel alone,I have been doing the same thing for 20 years and feel it
started when I had to take antidepressants. it is uncontrollable.I try to
put the junk food in a high place or in the basement when I go to sleep.
Jan 26, 2009 11:39 AM
Guest
:
For years I endured teasing by my friends about my nocturnal eating. Then,
I was watching the show "How I Met Your Mother", and one of the
characters referred to "sleep eating." My fiance turned &
looked at me & said that's what you do! That's when I did some
research and finally was happy to learn I'm not the only person who does
this! I'm a smoker & I also smoke after a snack. Sometimes I lay in
bed for an hour or more fighting the urge to eat, but I can't go back to
sleep until I have a snack. Sometimes I literally wake up in the kitchen
eating. I believe it's worse when I am stressed.
Mar 16, 2009 10:18 PM
Guest
:
I am 23 years old and a few months ago while adicted to oxymorphine and
oxycontin pills had an episode of sleep eating. Scared me to death. After a
night of doing pills and a little drinking me and my fiance went home and
went upstairs to bed he said that in the middle of the night he came
downstairs to find me cooking away in the kitchen. He told me to come to
bed and then returned upstairs. About an hour later he woke up again and I
was still downstairs cooking. He found me with a dry pot on the stove with
burner on. I was mixing up a concoction in a bowl which included cereal and
several things that did not go with it. He then realized a wasent awake and
he said he stared in amazement. I was cooking away the counter was covered
with all different types of food. It took him several trys to awaken me. He
was talking to me and I responded in my sleep. He had to yell at me and
shake me to get me to wake up. He was then extremely worred about me. And I
started crying when I saw that I was doing all this in my sleep, it scared
me. I had previously sleep walked several times, once naked into my parents
room while I was still living with them, my mom said I was in her bathroom
playing with and talking to the curtains, she said she talked to me and I
immediatly said I was just using the bathroom and dashed out of the room.
It is a scary thing. Almost all instances of my sleepwalking/eating I was
on high doses of painkillers. I have since gotten help and have not used
pain drugs in about 7 months. Last night I had been asleep for about an
hour and my fiance was still awake watching TV, he said that the song
"Its Tricky" by Run DMC was on TV and in my sleep I began singing
to the song " Its tricky to rock a rhyme to rocky a rhyme thats right
on time, its tricky....." and continued to sing most of the song. He
said he watched me amazed and then woke me afterwards, I had been asleep
for over an hour. This time there was no drugs or alcohol involved. I guess
I just have some kind of underlying sleep disorder, involving eating,
singing, walking around naked, and talking. The drugs seemed to make it
worse though, I was beginning to have episodes almost weekly at the high
point of my addiction. although after last night I guess Even without
drugs/alcohol I still have sleep disorders. Elizabeth, 23
