When you wake up in the middle of the night, it’s often relatively easy to fall back to sleep. But if you’re hungry, you might have a hard time getting shut-eye with a growling stomach. Here’s what your body’s trying to tell you if you wake up ravenous in the middle of the night.
1. You Might Need To Eat More During the Day
If you wake up hungry, it’s likely because you didn’t eat enough throughout the day, says Katherine Metzelaar, RDN, owner of Bravespace Nutrition. “Being restrictive or having restrictive eating habits — like forgetting to feed our bodies or following a strict food schedule, like not eating after a certain time of day — throws us off,” she adds.
However, “not eating enough can naturally cause the continuous release of ghrelin because the body doesn’t have enough sustainable energy from food, which can wake us up,” says Metzelaar.
Intuitive eating, or listening to your body and fueling it when it’s hungry, can help. “That might mean not going more than a couple of hours, four to five max, without food,” says Metzelaar. Though this timeframe looks different for everyone. “Getting plenty of proteins, healthy fats, and especially complex carbs throughout the day is equally important,” says Metzelaar.
2. You Might Have Low Blood Sugar
Fluctuating blood sugar levels can wake you up in the middle of the night. “When someone isn’t eating enough, it can throw off their glucose levels, which can make sleeping through a whole night without getting hungry virtually impossible,” says Metzelaar.
Eating a pre-bedtime snack filled with protein, carbs, and fat can prevent this, says Metzelaar. Examples include banana and almond butter on a slice of whole-wheat toast, yogurt or cottage cheese with berries, or hummus with crackers.
3. You Work Out Before Bed
“A strenuous workout, particularly one done in the evening, can significantly tap into fuel reserves,” says Michelle Ricker, RDN, a registered dietitian nutritionist, which can cause you to wake up hungry in the middle of the night.
4. Stress Is Also Waking You Up
5. You May Need More Vitamin D
The Takeaway
- Waking up hungry in the middle of the night can be from eating too little during the day, low blood sugar, working out at night, stress, or a lack of vitamin D.
- Eating consistent meals and snacks throughout the day can help you stay full at night.
- If you exercise at night, eating a post-workout snack with healthy carbs and protein can prevent hunger while you sleep.
- Reducing stress, improving sleep habits, and getting more vitamin D may help prevent nighttime wakefulness and hunger.
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