Do you often keep up late at night and binge on snacks

Eating Syndrome

Do you feel like not having breakfast quite often? Do you often keep up late at night and binge on snacks? You might be suffering from an emerging eating disorder, which is characterized by a loss of appetite in the morning and compensating for it during night hours. The disorder is usually accompanied with anxiety as well as insomnia. So, night eating syndrome or NES can also be listed under the category of mood and sleep disorder. Although the diagnosis of this disease is controversial and its validity and clinical utility remains to be established, several research studies show that this is not simply a bad indulgence but a clinical illness of a sort which leads to changes in hormonal levels.
People suffering from NES are seen to experience hormonal imbalance. Excessive stress often results in such a state. Persistent stress leads to production of cortisol, a hormone that signals the body that stress is present. According to one theory, night eating syndrome is the body's way of tackling the excess levels of cortisol. Studies indicate that people with NES produce large amounts of cortisol in comparison to others. Eating is just one way opted by the body to neutralize the cortisol level or slacken its rate of production.
Night eating syndrome is seen to be a response to the antidepressant medication. This clearly suggests that there is a chemical component to the disorder. Researchers have also studied that night eaters prefer carbohydrates over other categories of food. Carbohydrates are a food-type that triggers the brain to produce "feel-good" neuro-chemicals. Thus, night eating syndrome may be an unconscious attempt by the body to self-medicate mood disorders and reduce the stress level as well.