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We’ve all heard the saying, “You are what you eat.” But what if the real secret to health isn’t just what you eat — but also when you eat? The timing of meals plays a major role in digesting and metabolizing food and can even contribute to good health.
According to Vogue, experts recommend eating an early dinner. This allows the body to digest the food in time for a restful night, maximizing the benefits of sleep and keeping health issues at bay. Here’s what science says about when to plan dinner time.
Staying in Sync With Your Circadian Rhythm
TODAY likens the body to a manufacturing plant that runs on a tight schedule. Like a factory with shift workers and scheduled deliveries, the human body runs on a natural 24-hour repeating schedule called the circadian rhythm. This rhythm regulates sleep, hormones, wakefulness, energy, hunger, and other repeating body functions.
Just as it’s important to sleep on a regular schedule and during the evening hours, it’s important to eat on a regular schedule. This way hunger hormones are in sync with meals and the body is prepared to digest the food it receives.
Additionally, meals should ideally be finished with enough time for the body to metabolize the products before going to sleep for the night. Eating dinner too close to bedtime is like making a large delivery of raw goods at a factory just as the workers clock out for the day. Eating meals that are out of sync with the body’s natural circadian rhythm is associated with a number of health issues including sleep disruptions, heart disease, and diabetes.
Early Suppers Boost Health
Dr. Joseph Antoun, CEO of nutri-tech company L-Nutra, shares with Vogue another benefit of finishing dinner before bedtime. “When you eat late at night your body isn’t fully resting while you sleep,” Antoun explains. “You may not notice it, but your digestive system is working and you aren’t getting into REM sleep. Eating late at night means you might have micro wake-ups from things like acid reflux.”
Antoun adds that sleeping well is critical for living a long and healthy life. Therefore, he explains, early dinners can contribute to longevity. He recommends planning for a 12-hour gap between finishing dinner and eating breakfast. This is a form of intermittent fasting that can also promote a longer and healthier life.
“When interviewing centenarians, one of the most common things we found wasn’t that they eat healthy, it’s that they eat an early dinner,” Antoun says. “They don’t stay out late or have a late-night dinner or drinks. The next day, they always have breakfast, but there’s been a 12-hour space between their meals. Whether or not it’s intentional, it’s 12 hours of intermittent fasting.”
Tips for Eating Early
Early dinners are associated with restful sleep and a long life, but sometimes making time for that meal earlier is easier said than done, explains TODAY. With a busy schedule, it may be difficult to plan for a healthy sit-down at 6 pm every day.
If you are unable to eat dinner earlier, you should enjoy a light dinner composed of lean proteins, vegetables, and whole grains. These foods are less likely to interfere with sleep than heavy fatty meals, caffeine, sugary treats, spicy foods, and alcohol. If the evenings are tightly scheduled, meal prepping on the weekends and planning ahead can make an early and healthy dinner more of a reality. Or, lean into frozen vegetables and pre-made healthy foods.
Additionally, it may be necessary to change eating habits all day long to ensure that you are hungry at the healthiest times to eat. Late night snacking can push your breakfast time later. Afternoon snacks can push dinner time later. If you are constantly pushing off or catching up on meals, try to have one light early dinner that can keep you going overnight until the next morning, just to get your body back on a healthy schedule.
Shifting your eating schedule takes effort, but even small adjustments can make a difference. Through changing your dinner time, you can feel healthier and digest food more efficiently. Carrying out these simple habits may offer big benefits for your health.
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