By Admin 
It often happens that we keep our diet under good control throughout the day. Have breakfast properly, lunch is balanced and everything goes well till evening. However, as soon as night falls, especially before sleeping, one suddenly starts having a strong desire to eat sweets. Sometimes chocolate, sometimes ice cream, sometimes some high-calorie snack and then it also comes to my mind that why am I so weak, most people believe that the desire to eat at night is a lack of will power or weakness of discipline.
Research from Harvard and other big institutions tells a different story. The biological system of body and brain works behind this. Health experts say that the craving to eat chocolate or sweets at night is the result of natural changes in the brain and body.
The body’s circadian rhythm and nighttime hunger
Our body has an internal clock, which is called circadian rhythm. This clock decides when we will sleep, when we will feel hungry and when the body will be most active. As the evening approaches, the body starts moving towards rest, the decision-making power of the brain starts decreasing, self-control becomes weak. At this time the mind is more attracted towards things that give quick pleasure. That’s why I don’t feel like eating salad or vegetables. But chocolate, sweets or junk food become very attractive.
What is the reason behind the craving to eat chocolate at night?
At night, the brain needs quick energy and needs to feel good immediately. In such a situation, chocolate and sweet food items give instant sugar and activate the reward system of the brain. That’s why the brain says just eat some chocolate, you will feel good. This is not laziness or weakness, but a natural reaction of the brain.
Why do cravings increase?
If you do not get enough sleep, then the problem of cravings increases due to lack of sleep. Research shows that due to less sleep, the ghrelin hormone (which increases appetite) increases by 20–30 percent. At the same time, the leptin hormone (which signals fullness) decreases. This means you feel more hungry, feel less full and the desire to eat sweets increases more at night.
Apart from this, the scans done on the brain have revealed that due to lack of sleep, the brain becomes more active after seeing high calorie food, but the self-control part (prefrontal cortex) becomes slow i.e. very fast and has less power to say no, hence it becomes difficult to stop oneself from chocolate at night.
Disadvantages of eating late at night
If eating late at night every day becomes a habit, then you feel more hungry the next day, blood sugar level may increase in the morning, quality of sleep gets poor, weight gradually increases, metabolism is adversely affected, even if the calories are equal, but the time of eating matters a lot for the body. Apart from this, using the phone at night does not give rest to the mind, sleep comes late, pictures of food are seen on social media and videos. All these keep the reward system of the brain active and further increase the desire to eat chocolate or snacks.
How to reduce night cravings?
The good thing is that it does not require much strictness or willpower. Some easy measures like make it a habit to sleep on time, switch off the mobile 1 hour before sleeping, eat protein and fiber rich food during the day, keep bright lights to a minimum at night and understand the natural rhythm of the body.
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