Night Eating Disorder: A Serious Psychological and Physical Health Problem

Not to Be Forgotten During Eating Disorder Awareness Week: Night Eating Disorder

Yesterday I wrote about the beginning of National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, which begins today, and is spearheaded by the National Association for Eating Disorders.  One eating disorder recently in the news is night eating disorder.  Night eating disorder is characterized by an urge to awaken in the night and a feeling that you “must eat” in order to fall asleep again.  It can also be characterized by a feeling that you can’t eat in the morning.  Unfortunately, night eating disorder is often overlooked in comparison to other eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia, both of which are more well known.  Despite its lack of recognition, night eating disorder is as serious as other eating disorders because of its link to other serious problems.

Night Eating Disorder Linked to Other Serious Problems

Although night eating disorder typically involves eating too much, it is different than binge eating disorder because of its night time occurrence.  College-aged students or young adults are most likely to exhibit this type of behavior, and were more likely to suffer from depression or self-harmful behaviors such as cutting.  In the past, a lack of research failed to differentiate simple binge eating from night time overeating, but more recent research has shown that the syndrome is different and linked to other eating disorders that can cause severe psychological or physical outcomes.