Effects of sleeping late and eating  late

  • Thread starter Pengwuino
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In summary, people who sleep at "non-traditional" times are likely to get less sleep overall, but there is no definitive difference in how the body processes food when one sleeps at these times.
  • #1
Pengwuino
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Sleeping late and eating "late"

Hey guys i was wondering something. My parents always use to act like i wasnt getting any sleep simply because instead of sleeping like, midnight to 6am, id be sleeping at 6am to noon or 2pm. Is there any difference in how much sleep you get if you sleep at "non-traditional" times?

Also, taking that in mind, they also use to get on me when i ate late at like 11pm or midnight. The thing was, i would go to sleep at 5am or something so i always figured that eating at midnight and sleeping at 5am was equivalent to eating at 6pm adn sleeping at 11pm like a normal person. Does your body digest differently or whatever (you know how they say eating before you go to sleep makes you fatter...) late at night no matter when you woke up or fell asleep?
 
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  • #2
Pengwuino said:
Hey guys i was wondering something. My parents always use to act like i wasnt getting any sleep simply because instead of sleeping like, midnight to 6am, id be sleeping at 6am to noon or 2pm. Is there any difference in how much sleep you get if you sleep at "non-traditional" times?

Also, taking that in mind, they also use to get on me when i ate late at like 11pm or midnight. The thing was, i would go to sleep at 5am or something so i always figured that eating at midnight and sleeping at 5am was equivalent to eating at 6pm adn sleeping at 11pm like a normal person. Does your body digest differently or whatever (you know how they say eating before you go to sleep makes you fatter...) late at night no matter when you woke up or fell asleep?
your parents sould think they you ae study or reseach thingis. are you fat ? sorry just guess,

IIused to live in a farm of castele. see fat pigs as i observese they sleep all the time. and only wake up to eat.
 
  • #3
boteet said:
your parents sould think they you ae study or reseach thingis. i see it you might be fat, sorry just guess, because fat pigs as i observese they sleep all teh time. and only wake up to eat.

Welcome to summer vacation with no job and my summer classes cut because california needs a better version of Quicken.
 
  • #4
:rofl: thanks :wink:
 
  • #5
Why would you want to go asleep at 5 am?? Do you shun the sunlight? Why not go to sleep at 11 pm like regular people do?

Don't get me wrong, my friend does the exact same thing and his perfect time of going to sleep is 3 am and waking up at 10 am or 1 pm in weekends. It feels to me that life is passing you by when you wake up late every day.
 
  • #6
Its hot :D
 
  • #7
I don't see a difference in eating/sleeping in that time frame. Except you might be more active from 6 to 11, and burn off more calories.
 
  • #8
Some people are day people, some, like us, are night people. The mission is not to change OUR ways, but get society to recognise our personal bodyclocks and cater for us. I mean, if vegetarians can do it... I used to go to sleep at 4 am every morning. trouble is, I had to be up at 8:30 am. [shudder]

Nah, there's no difference I reckon. It's a lot worse to try and make yourself fit in with everyone else.
 
  • #9
Well i don't think I am reall tryign to make any societal stands of protest here... i was just wondering if is hould be eating when i do :-p
 
  • #10
You're just following your own circadian rhythm, which seems to be out of sync with the natural world around you. If you feel rested, then you're getting enough sleep; it's really that simple. There is a syndrome called "delayed sleep phase disorder," in which one or more of the genes/proteins involved in the circadian rhythm expression are altered. These are your truly classic "night owls" who can never adjust to the daily schedule most people function on, no matter how much they try. (On the other end of the spectrum, there is also an advanced sleep phase disorder, which are your classic "early birds" who wake up before dawn naturally...not with an alarm clock).

As for when you eat your meals, the only reason they tell people not to eat late is that they assume they are going to sleep soon after the meal and will gain weight (though I can't sleep without a snack or my grumbling stomach keeps me awake all night). If you're still awake for many hours after eating, there should be no problem.

What seems to be less healthy is switching your schedule around a lot. For example, if you sleep all day when you have a day off, but then get up really early to go to classes or work, that's worse than if you stick to the same schedule all the time. Studies of shift workers have shown that those who work "swing" shifts (they rotate schedules so nobody always has the night shift...a few days on first shift, a few days second shift, and a few days third shift) have more health problems, particularly with things like high blood pressure and heart attack risk than those who work a constant shift, even if it's always nights.

I have always tended to be much more of a night owl myself, and especially when there's a lot of work to be done, I too prefer to sleep through the hottest part of the day in the summer and instead stay up all night while it's cooler.
 
  • #11
The morning pisses me off. I mean breakfast, what the hell is that. All i can think of for breakfast is eggs or cereal. Theres no big variations like lunch or dinner. Plus i feel like i can get right into the thick of things when i wake up later. In the morning, everyones all groggy and boring and not doing anything productive. Wake up in the afternoon and you got to hurry up, go go go, worlds moven don't miss the train and all that good stuff :D
 
  • #12
I aw well stay up till around 12 or 1 and wake up around 11 or 12. I also eat late at night and I'm not fat so I personally don't see anything wrong with that. It's really not cool during the school year though.
 
  • #13
Moonbear said:
There is a syndrome called "delayed sleep phase disorder," in which one or more of the genes/proteins involved in the circadian rhythm expression are altered. These are your truly classic "night owls" who can never adjust to the daily schedule most people function on, no matter how much they try.
But that is what I don't get, if you can adjust to a 3am/10am schedule, why is it hard to shift the schedule 3 hours earlier? I mean, shifting your whole day pattern, not just going to bed earlier.

Time is just a number.. I sometimes am tempted to change the clocks in the house to three hours later, but then when he arrives first at work.. would give away my game :biggrin:
 
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  • #14
I must admit i live on a similar schedual as pengwuin and it feels fine. I only really feel awake late at night. As my girlfriend will testify I am not a morning person.
 
  • #15
But what is morning? When you wake up late, that will be morning.. even though it is already 1 pm.

Why would your mood be better when you sleep 8 hours and wake up at 11 am opposed to sleeping 8 hours and waking up at 8 am?
 
  • #16
Monique said:
But what is morning? When you wake up late, that will be morning.. even though it is already 1 pm.

Why would your mood be better when you sleep 8 hours and wake up at 11 am opposed to sleeping 8 hours and waking up at 8 am?
Your sleep/wake cycle, as well as cycles of heart rate, body temperature, metabolic rate, etc., are actually entrained to the day/night cycle. When the sun comes up, you're supposed to wake up (give or take an hour). But if the clock genes don't turn on or off at the right times, due to a mutation, then you don't wake up when the sun comes up, you either wake up too early or too late. You're going to feel bad if you wake up out of sync with your melatonin rhythm, temperature rhythm and metabolic rhythms (ever notice how you start feeling chills and how you start getting really hungry, craving lots of carbohydrates if you're trying to pull an all-nighter?). The body can really only easily shift about an hour or two per day, so if you're 6 hours out of phase with the day/night cycle, it can take as much as a week to adjust (assuming you aren't someone with a sleep disorder).
 
  • #17
Sure, it'll take time to adjust: like a jet-lag. That does not explain why people swear by going to sleep late and getting up late, I know so many people who feel it is inhumane to go to work before 11 am.. I feel that is just being difficult.

I even know someone who worked noon-8pm shifts.. just so that he could go to sleep at 4 am..

I don't see how you are going to feel any more rested when you shift your whole pattern.

I used to go to work at 5 am, after a while you adjust to the time and it is no different than going to work at 9 am or 11 am (did that too for a while).
 
  • #18
I have no idea but it's true...
 
  • #19
Monique said:
Sure, it'll take time to adjust: like a jet-lag. That does not explain why people swear by going to sleep late and getting up late, I know so many people who feel it is inhumane to go to work before 11 am.. I feel that is just being difficult.

I even know someone who worked noon-8pm shifts.. just so that he could go to sleep at 4 am..

I don't see how you are going to feel any more rested when you shift your whole pattern.

I used to go to work at 5 am, after a while you adjust to the time and it is no different than going to work at 9 am or 11 am (did that too for a while).

If your normal circadian rhythm is longer than 24 hours, it's hard to get up earlier, or even to get up at the same time every day; you gradually wake up later and later. You'll always feel tired if you're waking up with less sleep than you body wants (normal circadian rhythms vary from about 23.5 to 24.5 hours; not everyone falls within the normal range).

Here's a site that shows some of the molecular mechanism (though it's a bit outdated, it's useful for the general concepts), complete with cool animations.

http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/animations/mol_mod_mamm/mamm_frames.htm
 
  • #20
If the following quote is accurate, how is our circadian rhythm regulated by sunlight exposure? Will a phase shift in sleeping pattern as Pengwuino describes, go against the grain of this regulating system? Will a sufficient amount of neurotransmitters, (such as serotonin) be produced under these conditions? Besides affecting depression/euphoria mood, do levels of serotonin also affect short-term memory? Are there other common neurotransmitters triggered by sunlight?

The body has a natural rhythm of sleeping and wakefulness, called the circadian rhythm, which is regulated by exposure to sunlight. Working on the night shift will cause a change in this rhythm, because your altered sleep schedule means you will have less exposure to daylight. This in turn may affect the production of mood-related neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, and may predispose you to depression. Studies show that night workers do have a higher risk of depression. While the exact causes for this link is unclear, working at night may isolate you from friends and family, reducing your support system and further increasing the risk of becoming depressed.
http://www.pharmaprix.ca/english/health_wellness/health_centres/emotional_health/SDM_depr_FAQ.html [Broken] see #5.

If this is correct, it would be worth it to be awake and endure the heat of day and then sleep at night, as it would be healthier for our brain.
 
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  • #21
I love going to sleep at 3AM or 4AM during the summer with no job, because night time is a lot more relaxing and nobody is on your shoulder...etc, lately I have been staying awake 15 hours, and sleeping 12 hours. Everyday I go to sleep 3 hours later O.O
 
  • #22
Moonbear said:
Studies of shift workers have shown that those who work "swing" shifts (they rotate schedules so nobody always has the night shift...a few days on first shift, a few days second shift, and a few days third shift) have more health problems, particularly with things like high blood pressure and heart attack risk than those who work a constant shift, even if it's always nights.

Oops :yuck: that put's me into trouble. I work two nights in a row, every three weeks nowadays, then I have a week off, making 38 hrs weekly on the average. Doesn't seem to bother a lot. But I had an heart attack 9 years ago (homocysteine type)

Any hints?
 
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  • #23
Monique said:
But what is morning? When you wake up late, that will be morning.. even though it is already 1 pm.

Ummmm... I think it would not be morning. We say good morning before 12 and good afternoon after 12. So to us (people who stay up late and wake up late) it would be the morning but in fact it wouldn't, it would be afternoon. If that makes sense.
 
  • #24
I've gone through several shifts of body clock over the years and haven't noticed any difference in mood or weight (from eating at odd times).
High school years meant getting up at 6.30am to catch a 7.30am bus. This was often preceeded by going to bed around 2am and waking to do homework at 4am with a complete crash every couple of weeks and sleeping for best part of 24hours.
Post High School tended to be sleeping from 2am geting up around 8am for a 9am job.
Horsey Years often up around 5.30/6am and sleeping from 11pm(ish)
Pizza Palour Months waking at 2pm sleeping at 5/6am
Now sleep usually around midnight-2am wake 9am(ish) sometimes earlier

Has been various oddities in between - one such example being awake at 3am to be at stables by 4am so i could be at work by 5am (note I do not drive) and often getting to bed before 10/11pm

I eat when hungry although on a reasonalby regular basis as skipping meals brings on migraines.

But to conclude I do not feel there is any difference on health, just go with what suits you and your lifestyle.
 
  • #25
Where did Pengwuino go?

I just want to ask you (and maybe Nerro as well) (or Moonbear more scientifically) what will happen if people like Pengwuino and Nerro travel across a time zone? Will you still like the same cycle with regard to the clock or will your cycle be shifted corresponding to the number of time zones crossed?
If it will be shifted correspondingly it is something physically, maybe in the genes, but anyway some sort of internal clock. Maybe you'd have a more normal cycle in the "right" time zone.
If it's still the same relative to the local time you moved to then it's
-either just something psychologically (and I think Pengwuino was into that - observing that everybody's groggy anyway and nobody gets anything done)
-or something depending on things like the cycle of the sun etc. In that case Moonbear has to explain why some people always have to sleep when it's light. Or just simply as Pengwuino also indicated, that it is too hot to go to sleep a certain time and you have to wait.
 

What is the impact of sleeping late and eating late on our health?

Sleeping and eating late can have negative effects on our health. It disrupts our circadian rhythm, leading to fatigue, decreased productivity, and an increased risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.

How does sleeping late affect our brain function?

When we sleep late, our brain doesn't get enough rest and recharge time. This can lead to cognitive impairment, memory problems, and difficulty concentrating.

Does eating late at night cause weight gain?

Eating late at night can contribute to weight gain because our metabolism slows down at night. This means our body is less efficient at burning calories consumed late at night, leading to weight gain over time.

What are the potential effects of eating late on our digestive system?

Eating late at night can disrupt our digestive system, causing discomfort, bloating, and indigestion. It can also increase the risk of developing acid reflux and other digestive issues.

How can we improve our sleeping and eating habits to promote better health?

To promote better health, it's important to maintain a consistent sleep schedule and avoid eating late at night. This can be achieved by setting a regular bedtime and avoiding heavy meals close to bedtime. Incorporating healthy habits such as regular exercise and a balanced diet can also improve overall health and well-being.

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