Nocturnal cravings? What you can do about it

Food cravings are nothing unusual. Especially for people who normally stay up late, the feeling of hunger usually returns a few hours after dinner. Evening hunger pangs often lead to trouble falling asleep. However, feelings of loss of control or shame can be much more stressful in this context. Our tips should help you prevent nighttime cravings and find ways to better cope with them.

***DISCLAIMER: Food cravings are not always "only" related to the factors mentioned here. They can also be a symptom of an eating disorder, for example. and have more fundamental psychological causes. If you feel a great deal of distress due to the cravings or are generally uncomfortable with the issue, please seek medical or psychotherapeutic help. A first step can be a visit to your Be your family doctor.***

How to deal with (nighttime) cravings

Plan for your cravings and prepare for

If you eat dinner at 6 or 7 p.m. but don't go to bed until midnight, it's no wonder you'll get hungry again at some point. After all, it's a period of 5-6 hours! So it's important and right to acknowledge this hunger, for example, by having another snack. Hunger is not a feeling we should be ashamed of or suppress.

No matter how many hours lie between your dinner and bedtime – 2, 4, or 6 hours – when hunger strikes, we should eat something. Of course, there is a Difference between a "real" feeling of hunger and the pure desire to eat. It may take some time and practice to differentiate between these two sensations. However, intuitive eating is a topic in itself, which unfortunately would go beyond the scope of this article. Either way, there's no shame in reaching for another snack after dinner.

What we can influence, however, is what this snack looks like. Because if we prepare ourselves for a possible craving during the day, the likelihood is significantly higher that our evening snack won't be chips or chocolate. With a little planning and foresight, we can then healthier and more complete Snacks that still satisfy our cravings. Some examples of such “nutritious” snacks are vegetable sticks with hummus, Granola with yogurt or a handful of nuts.

Think about what kind of snack you usually crave: Sweet? Salty? Savory? Warm? Crunchy? Each of us has different Preferences. Therefore, it's important to equip yourself with snacks that suit your taste. How about homemade popcorn, an energy bar, or healthy cookies? Here you can find more savory and sweet snack ideas.

Eat enough for dinner

Sometimes we tend to eat as little as possible in the evening to avoid consuming "too many" calories. The problem with this is that we feel hungry again after a few hours and then indulge in high-calorie snacks.

A sufficient portion at dinner is important to satisfy us and at the same time prevent hunger pangs. The goal at dinner should always be pleasant Feeling of satiety be.

In addition, our evening meals are usually more nutritious and balanced than the snacks that follow. Therefore, it's more beneficial to eat a good portion at dinner than to skimp on dinner and then compensate later with unhealthy, high-calorie snacks.

Drink enough fluids

Did you know that we Hunger and thirst sometimes with each other confuse withCrazy, right? So if you think you're hungry, it could simply be because your body isn't getting enough fluids and is craving them. So, if you think you're hungry again in the evening, ask yourself if it's possible that you simply haven't drunk enough. Drinking a glass of water or tea can help us better assess whether the feeling of hunger is actually hunger or "just" thirst.

If you are looking for something that will keep you hydrated and at the same time fill you up a little, then soups, smoothies or even a cup of Golden milk a good option.

If we still feel hungry afterwards, it is perfectly legitimate to have another healthy snack. Then we make sure that we are hydrated. and are full! :-)

Make sure you get enough sleep

Lack of sleep has many consequences – too many to list here. One important point, however, is that we only energy available when we don't get enough sleep. It's only natural that our bodies crave more food – because food gives us energy. At such times, our cravings for high-calorie foods are particularly high.

To prevent these types of hunger attacks, we should prevent our bodies from lacking energy in the first place by getting enough sleep. However, this can be a big task and requires patience. To make it easier for yourself to get used to more sleep, you should step by step Extend your bedtime by 10-15 minutes at a time until you reach your goal. This makes it easier for your body to adjust to the change.

Be mindful and loving with yourself

At this point, I would like to make a small shift in the direction of intuitive eating. A very important component of this is that we learn to Perceiving signals from our body and interpret it appropriately. It's about distinguishing the feeling of hunger from the mere "desire to eat." Sometimes we reach for sweets and unhealthy snacks out of boredom.

Listening to our body is the least we can give back to it for everything it does for us every day. And when we choose to eat food, we should be able to enjoy it. We shouldn't feel bad or guilty about it.It is therefore important to have a healthy relationship with your own eating habits A mindful approach to food can be a helpful approach here.

Mindful eating includes, among other things, present and concentrate fully on eating. Too often we allow ourselves to be distracted and entertained by videos, newspapers, television, or even audiobooks. Mindful eating means Time to taketo eat slowly and enjoy every bite to appreciateThis reduces the likelihood that we'll simply "shovel" food into our mouths and eat much more than we actually need. Mindless eating therefore leads more frequently to nighttime cravings.

Photo by Miriam Alonso

In summary, this means:

Developing a loving approach to hunger pangs can take some time. At the same time, there are several things we can do to prevent these cravings.

By planning substantial Meals or healthy Snacks We are prepared when hunger strikes. Sleep- as well as dehydration should not be underestimated as factors that can cause or promote hunger attacks. If we are hungry, we should hunger recognize and appease them with a hearty snack, for example. more mindful Handling with Eat can also help us not to eat too much and to increase food intake enjoy to be able to.

If you would like to learn more about healthy eating, mindfulness, sustainability or family and pregnancy, Check out more exciting blog articles on these topics here.