It’s about time — experts suggest that eating your evening meal within a specific two-hour window can boost weight loss, improve sleep and aid digestion.
Known as the “early bird approach,” timing your last meal of the day between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. allows you to align with your body’s natural circadian rhythm. This rhythm influences metabolism, digestion and hormonal release, peaking during daylight hours and slowing with the onset of evening.
Eating too late disturbs this cadence and can wreak havoc on sleep, digestion and mood.
“We know that when people eat later at night, they have a higher risk of obesity,” Tara Schmidt, a registered dietitian of the Mayo Clinic Diet, told Fortune last month.
A 2022 study published in Cell Metabolism found that people who ate their main meal around 5 p.m. burned more calories than those who ate dinner later.
Eating four hours before you hit the hay allows you time to take a post-dinner walk, or “fart walk,” as some call it.
Digestion is best “when light is present and the body is active,” Schmidt told Fortune. “You’re going to have lower blood sugar levels because your blood sugar rose during that meal. But now that you’re exercising, it’s going to come back lower.”
Sustained high blood sugar is the defining characteristic of diabetes.
Waiting too late to eat dinner may also worsen heartburn or acid reflux.
A 2023 study found that those who dine after 9 p.m. are 28% more likely to suffer a stroke.
For every hour after 8 p.m. that a study participant ate their dinner, their chances of having a stroke or a transient ischemic attack, in which blood supply to the brain is briefly interrupted, increased by 8%.
Beyond meal timing, foods with high fat or acid content, caffeine and spicy flavors are more likely to cause indigestion and heartburn, making it difficult to fall asleep and maintain slumber.
Foods that encourage better sleep tend to have a good balance of lean protein, fiber and complex carbohydrates.
Research has also established that how we eat our food is just as important as what and when we eat.
Studies suggest that the more we chew, the better we feel.
Experts say a slow, thoughtful munch benefits weight loss, helping people recognize when they are full and curbing overeating. Awareness of the food in your mouth forces you to eat more mindfully, which is key to really enjoying it — and knowing when you’ve had enough.
