12 Common Nighttime Behaviors That Cause Weight Gain

Dec 13, 2018 by apost team

If you are gaining weight but you don’t know why, you may want to take a second look at your bedtime routine. Read on for 12 nighttime habits that may be causing you to gain weight without you even realizing it is happening.

When you don’t get the recommended amount of sleep every night, your metabolism becomes slower and your cortisol level increases. You’ll also feel hungrier throughout the day and exercise less because you are so tired. Be sure that you get the recommended amount of seven to nine hours of sleep per night.

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When you eat too much for dinner, or your food is very heavy, your digestion slows down. This is especially true at night. Instead, choose dinners that are made up of lean proteins and fresh vegetables. Remember to drink a lot of water with your meals to aid in digestion.

When you fall asleep right after you eat your digestion system slows down, causing you to accumulate additional fat cells. To combat this, eat at least 1.5-2 hours before going to bed at night.

Fried food has a ton of calories that will be hard to burn off at night. Plus, it makes you gain additional fat cells. You may also stay up later at night if the grease and fat in the fried food cause indigestion. Instead, pick grilled, baked, or steamed recipes for dinner.

Different spices can lead to indigestion and problems sleeping at night. Spicy foods also cause heartburn, which again will keep you up late. Simply avoid exceptionally spicy foods at night.

This type of food will actually give you energy, but you usually don’t need this type of energy before you go to bed. These types of refined sugars have to be burned off as quickly as possible. Instead, eat salads, fresh fruit, or food that is high in protein.

Sugary desserts give your body energy it cannot burn off late at night. Plus, flour and white sugar transform into even more fat cells in the body. To fix this problem, choose fresh fruit for dessert instead of sugary sweets.

Eating unhealthy snacks after your dinner is basically just giving your body more energy that will keep you up late. And of course, more food = more weight gain, naturally. Avoid any type of sweets after dinner, especially snacking mindlessly.

Skipping meals will actually slow down your metabolism and can cause weight gain and anxiety. Try to at least eat something small for dinner every day, like a piece of fruit.

Both products are full of empty calories and will affect how you sleep. Instead, drink warm milk or a natural smoothie.

Blue light has been shown to affect our brain, health, and sleep. About an hour before bedtime, turn off all electronic devices. Listen to music or read a book to relax.

Staying up past midnight messes with your body’s natural cycles and can cause weight gain. Always go to bed as soon as you begin to feel tired.

Do you have any more helpful hints you want to tell us? Leave us a comment below and then pass this along to others so they can get a good night's rest, too!

Our content is created to the best of our knowledge, yet it is of general nature and cannot in any way substitute an individual consultation by your doctor. Your health is important to us!