Sleep Eating

kimbim60

I've walked and talked in my sleep my entire life and this past year have come to realize that I also eat in my sleep. I woke up this morning to a plate sitting on my night stand which had an few crumbs on it and thought...." yup, I got into that cake last night, didn't I". I've seen programs of people doing that in sleep studies and I'm definitely one of those people. There have been nights when I've made nachos and left the broiler on in the oven , so I actually cook, cut, you name it. I'm not doing it quite as much since I've started to count calories but every now and then I wake up to a plate on my night stand. Anyone else have this problem? I'm guessing I'm not eating enough calories and that's why I do it....just another thing to work on I guess. Oh and I just joined MFP and can really use some friends that will join me in this journey to health.:yawn:

Artemis_Acorn

Wow - that's an interesting problem to have. Hard to count those calories if you don't know what you ate or what the portion was. And sad that you don't really get to ENJOY eating it! I think if it was me, I would probably NOT eat back my exercise calories to help balance it out.

I had a friend who had this problem when she took Ambien, but if you're not on a sleeping pill, I don't know that there's much you can do aside from locking up the food and giving someone else the key!

kimbim60

Yes I'm on sleeping pills as well but I'm doing just as you suggested and when I wake up the next day I can pretty much judge how much I ate. I was still under my calorie goal, thank goodness but yes it is really hard to control. My daughter says she could lock me in my room (jokingly) but there are to many things that could go wrong with doing that lol

kimbim60

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downtome

Maybe you could place a couple of bells on a string through the door so that when you get up to go to the kitchen the loud noise will startle you and hopefully wake you up?! It might be worth a shot. Good luck, how frustrating.

astul

My mum was telling me just today that it appears that my brother does just that and ate a bowl of trifle that was being saved for his 2 sons' tea the next night! They weren't too impressed that daddy had eaten it on them! i don't think it runs in the family but i will now keep an eye out for unwashed plates, bowls and chopping knives just in case! lol

geekymom57

As was noted, sleep-eating (and other behaviors) can be an issue for people who take Ambien. One of my daughters took Ambien and ended up going off of it due to the side effects she was experiencing, including doing things in her sleep she didn't remember.

Whether or not the sleep-eating is related to your sleep meds, you may want to discuss this with your physician. In reality, the risks associated with the food prep (leaving broiler on, for example) are probably of more concern than the calorie consumption.

I don't want to be a Debbie Downer, but this seems like something you should check out to prevent more serious outcomes than an un-remembered plate by your bed.

kimbim60

Yes I totally agree with you, I'm surprised I haven't burnt myself yet . I take zopiclone (Canada) but have recently purchased SleepSense from a health food store that has Melatonin and vitamin B12 in it so I'm hoping that once I switch over it will make a big difference. Regardless I've managed to lose 34 lbs prior to joining MFP and hopefully I continue to lose weight. Thanks for responding and oh ! Please add me as I'm new to MFP and can use all the support I can get, I also like to encourage people who are making life style changes as well.

martinh78

I don't know anything about your sleeping problem, but I do know that if you didn't have cake in the house you wouldn't be eating it in your sleep ;o)

I like the bells on the door idea, something like a shop bell could be good?

kimbim60

Thank you Downtome, that's a fantastic idea, my daughter has this wreath made of bells that I can hang on my door, I'll let you know how it turns out, Thanks again for the suggestion.

mrshayes1584

I don't know anything about your sleeping problem, but I do know that if you didn't have cake in the house you wouldn't be eating it in your sleep ;o)

I like the bells on the door idea, something like a shop bell could be good?

I don't know if you were joking or not about the cake in the house but the thing about that is most sleep eaters live with other people.I feel guilty that we can't keep a lot of things that my husband and son like in the house due to my sleep eating. Sleep eaters carry a lot of guilt and shame about this. I hate when I eat my son's snacks. I hate it when my husband has to hide food from me and I still somehow get to it. Abolishing unhealthy foods in the house doesn't always work either. When there's no snacks I resort to all kinds of things we can't ban from the house (hot dogs,peanut butter,juice,crackers,nuts...). So if there is no cake in the house a typical sleep eater will eat something else or roam restlessly throughout the night.

MartiJJohnston

So if there is no cake in the house a typical sleep eater will eat something else or roam restlessly throughout the night.

I totally agree with this statement. I've been known to make up crazy recipes of stuff I probably wouldn't eat while awake (according to the packages and containers I leave out or in the trash). I'm embarrassed to tell you some of the crazy stuff I've eaten. But at this point I guess I'm just glad I haven't gotten hurt while sleep walking (choking on food, or otherwise). :blushing:

I like the bell on the door idea, too...

mrshayes1584

Yea,my doctor told me to stay away from nuts and things that are hard to chew so that I don't choke. Speaking of weird, I put cumin on pizza once(I'm guessing because the bottle looked similiar to the red pepper bottle) and ate it anyway. Woke up with the most vile taste in my mouth! I would never do that awake.I was so confused.