Expert says 4 million Americans who eat in their sleep crave peanut butter, pasta
Q: My wife eats in her sleep. I have watched her do this. Is this like sleepwalking and is it dangerous? A: Perhaps as many as 4 million Americans have eaten in their sleep. The official term for the affliction is Nocturnal Sleep-Related Eating Disorder (NSRED). First diagnosed in 1955 and the subject of a 1999 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, NSRED is often misdiagnosed as anorexia, bulimia or depression.
That’s because it impacts a small percentage of the population and some victims are too ashamed to report their activities even when they are dimly aware of them, reports Lea Montgomery, a faculty member at Texas Christian University’s Harris School of Nursing in Fort Worth and co-author of an article on sleep eating and how to diagnosis it in the April 1 issue of R.N., a professional publication for nurses. The cause of the malady is not understood but there are theories. “One suggests that sleep apnea or restless-legs syndrome may partially arouse the individual during non-rapid-eye-movement sleep and prompt a nocturnal eating episode,” says Montgomery. “Another is that low levels of melatonin and cortisol may play a role. Stress may also be a factor.”
Sleep eating can be dangerous. Its victims may walk into walls or countertops, cut themselves on can openers, burn themselves with hot food or liquids or even accidentally ingest poison. Sleep eaters typically go for the sugar and the fat. Pasta or peanut butter are typical fare. One study suggests that two-thirds of those with the disorder are women. Other studies reveal no gender discrimination with this disorder.
Some sleep eaters realize what they’ve done and take steps to prevent a recurrence. But their solutions usually do not address the basic problem. They install motion detectors in the kitchen, lock the refrigerator door, limit the amount of food they keep in the house and eat extra heartily at dinner to avoid being hungry later.
(Send your questions to Steve Infanti, A Fit Life Column, 801e BAB, University Park, Pa. 16802 or SCInfanti(at)compuserve.com.)