Midnight snack
Who hasn't felt a certain hunger pang in the middle of the night or before going to bed at least once in their lives? We head to the fridge, open it, and let our imaginations run wild to come up with the tastiest of bedtime snacks. But are midnight snacks good for you?
Snacking interrupts a routine process
There is no absolute scientific truth. What is certain is that snacking is not recommended at night: many studies indicate that eating before going to bed increases the probability that calories will be absorbed in the form of fat. A few hours after dinner, the body completes its digestion and prepares for the night's rest, decreasing the heart rate and releasing hormones that will allow it to rest and regenerate. Seen in this light, midnight snacking prevents our body from maintaining its natural daily rhythms.Is it really hunger?
Night-time hunger may not be due to a real need, but to a psychological factor, so-called nervous hunger. To recognize and avoid nervous hunger, think about how you spent your day. For example: Did we eat enough for the day? It may that sometimes you don’t eat quite enough. In this case, at the end of the day, you feel the need to eat something. This is why it is advisable, for example, to opt for a glass of milk. In any case, it will be necessary to recalculate your daily food consumption. Did we skip a meal? At this juncture, the hunger will be felt even more but given the late hour, it is not recommended to make up for the lost meal. Let's try to satisfy our body's needs with a small snack that doesn’t make our digestion difficult and exacting. Did we exercise? After a workout, our need for energy increases, and consequently so does our hunger, so that the body is bound to feel the imbalance at the end of the day.Tips for healthy snacks
If you can't do without a late-night snack, it's a good idea to choose healthy foods that allow you to satisfy your hunger without adversely affecting your sleep. Try not to think about pizza, leftovers from dinner, chips, etc. because they’ll certainly satisfy the desire to munch on something quickly, but they’ll take a lot of time to digest properly, making it difficult to sleep. A pre-bedtime snack should be small but tasty, for example: • Some greek yogurt with berries • A cup of lukewarm milk • A small milkshake • Dried fruits • Wholemeal bread with cooked ham All clear, right? 😊
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