1. What You Might Have
There are 2 principal types of sleep-eating disorders. One is known as NS-RED (nocturnal sleep-related eating disorder) and the other is known as NES (night eating syndrome). The difference between them is that, in NS-RED, you may prepare and eat food while staying asleep, and later awaken with no idea of what you had done during the night. With NES, you are fully aware of the fact that you are eating; it's more a sense that you need to eat in order to get back to sleep.
2. Symptoms of NES
If you suffer from NES, it's likely that you eat more food after the dinner hour than you did during dinner. You may also have, as a result, no desire to eat breakfast. The principal symptom of NES is that you awaken several times during the night and cannot get back to sleep unless you eat. As with NS-RED, NES can cause you problems, both in the sense of how weary your body becomes from lack of sleep, and how nutritionally unbalanced your diet can become during the day.
3. Who is Susceptible to Night-Eating Disorders?
Both men and women suffer from these disorders, so your gender won't protect you from or predispose you to experiencing this uncontrollable need to eat. Most susceptible to this kind of disorder are depressed people, the overweight and those suffering from intense stress.
4. Methods of Treatment
Use common sense when looking at treatment options. Think of NES or NS-RED more as a symptom of some other problem area in your life, rather than as a disease in and of itself. Look at your mental state in general: depression often leads to our indulging in food. "Comfort foods" may seem to comfort us during times of stress or depression, but when eaten uncontrollably, they can be more problematic than helpful. Also, check your physical state during the day: are you dieting and feeling hungrier than normal? If this is so, your body may simply be reacting by pushing you to look for food during the nighttime hours when you're in a weakened state and can't resist so easily. It may be a sign that it's time to change your diet.
5. Things You Can Do
Aside from seeking counseling for any mental health issues that may be helping to cause your eating disorder, you can exercise some discipline into your life, if needed, by limiting your intake of alcohol and caffeine. These substances clearly cause a sleep imbalance in your body, and you may be more vulnerable to their effects than you once thought. Regular exercise, while elevating your general level of health, also helps you to get tired in a natural way. This helps you avoid the use of sleeping pills or other sleep aids.
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