Sleep eating?

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Terraforcejenny
Terraforcejenny Posts: 47 Member
in Motivation and Support
I wasn't sure where to put this,but now that I've been monitoring what I eat my sigfig and I have noticed something;

Small wrappers from individual sliced american cheeses have been appearing on the path from the bedroom to the fridge, and I don't remember making these trips. We thought maybe the cats were getting into the trash, until he 'caught' me sleep walking and grabbing a piece of cheese, taking a bite, then wandering back to bed after dropping it. He didn't want to wake me up; he knows that sleepwalking can be a touchy thing, so he waited to talk to me the next day.

Has...anyone else had issues sleep eating? This hasn't (to my knowlege) been a problem of mine before, and I'm not sure why I'm grabbing what I am (last night I discovered an open bag of cereal near the bed that he swore he didn't eat any of, so apparently I ate like...3 handfuls of it?).

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  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
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    Like this?aalw0ap2cdse.jpg
  • libbydoodle11
    libbydoodle11 Posts: 1,351 Member
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    Terraforcejenny wrote: »
    I wasn't sure where to put this,but now that I've been monitoring what I eat my sigfig and I have noticed something;

    Small wrappers from individual sliced american cheeses have been appearing on the path from the bedroom to the fridge, and I don't remember making these trips. We thought maybe the cats were getting into the trash, until he 'caught' me sleep walking and grabbing a piece of cheese, taking a bite, then wandering back to bed after dropping it. He didn't want to wake me up; he knows that sleepwalking can be a touchy thing, so he waited to talk to me the next day.

    Has...anyone else had issues sleep eating? This hasn't (to my knowlege) been a problem of mine before, and I'm not sure why I'm grabbing what I am (last night I discovered an open bag of cereal near the bed that he swore he didn't eat any of, so apparently I ate like...3 handfuls of it?).


    You should go to a sleep clinic and have your sleeping patterns monitored.


    http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sleep-related-eating-disorder/basics/definition/con-20037290


    http://www.anred.com/nsred.html


    http://www.helpguide.org/articles/sleep/sleep-disorders-and-sleeping-problems.htm


  • ShenandoahSand
    ShenandoahSand Posts: 4 Member
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    Are you by any chance taking a sleep aid, especially Ambien? Because I take Ambien CR and sometimes that one can make you do some crazy things and not really be aware of it while it's happening. I sleep eat on Ambien at times. I once made an entire omelette with feta, spinach and mushrooms and a bagel with cream cheese, ate it. CLEANED UP and went immediately back to bed. My husband watched the whole thing. The next morning, when I said to him that I had this vague, in the back of my head feeling that I made have been downstairs the night before, he told me what I had done. When I asked him why he didn't say anything to me at the time, he said, "I thought you were hungry!"

    I agree with the PP as well, if you can't attribute it to something like that, I would definitely have a sleep study done. Either way mention it to your doctor.
  • IAmToria
    IAmToria Posts: 15
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    I sleep eat sometimes as well or find myself waking occasionally with really bad cravings, and in the kitchen before I'm fully aware of what I am doing, so you're definitely not alone with it. I've woken up once before in bed with half a cheese slice next to me. I have to take sleeping tablets and also have binge eating disorder, both of which have been known to lead to sleep eating. It's worth going to your doctor about it, and trying to find what the cause may be. Good luck :)
  • sheepotato
    sheepotato Posts: 600 Member
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    Are you on any medication? A friend of mine had an antidepressant that made her sleep walk and eat at night.
  • Terraforcejenny
    Terraforcejenny Posts: 47 Member
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    Thanks everyone for your responses! I had no idea that antidepressants/sleep aids could contribute to this. I haven't been taking my sleep aid in awhile, so I'm not sure if that's it, but I will try to monitor this (I am supposed to "take as needed", so I will probably have the sigfig keep track of me whilst on vs off). I also think I will talk to a docor about a sleep study; I have had insomnia and sleeping issues since I was 6, but nothing like this!
    I'm also glad I'm not alone, haha. I've asked the bf to move some of his foods to higher locations (I'm very short so I figure if I can't get to it in my sleep then I should be mostly safe?).
    I will update if I figure out what's going on!
  • maoribadger
    maoribadger Posts: 1,837 Member
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    Funnily enugh my friends fella has been doing this and she sent him to the docs for a variety of things and his doc felt it was stress induced. I'd say its worth a chat to your gp (or american equivalent)
  • court_alacarte
    court_alacarte Posts: 219 Member
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    oh man, this phenomenon has always intrigued me. i've read about people on sleep aids who order pizza or call random numbers and have full conversations. and they don't even remember anything.

    i've never done anything to that caliber--a couple of times a boyfriend and my mom have relayed to me that i will ask random questions or comments with my eyes open.

    it's probably stress and harmless but i would for sure go to a doc.
  • Terraforcejenny
    Terraforcejenny Posts: 47 Member
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    Recently discovered that the Cosmos podcast I was listening had a section where they repeatedly suggested I go and eat snacks. I didn't know about this (I was asleep already) but my boyfriend woke up to Neil deGrasse Tyson saying 'eat snacks" 3 times in a row and shut down the podcast, haha.

    Now I'm wondering if these podcasts might have more food-suggestions and I'm reacting...?
  • Terraforcejenny
    Terraforcejenny Posts: 47 Member
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    Ok this is a super late update but here it is! I talked to a psychiatrist, and got a new sleep aid (apparently this one is the one they switch you to specifically to avoid sleep eating!). I haven't been sleep eating as much, but I HAVE discovered a few things:
    1. My sleep eating occurs most often when I "jolt" awake at some point before truly dozing off. If this happens now, I make myself get up and move the cereal (my most common snack I tend to grab).
    2. I am in the process of finding a sleep study, but my psych said that I should wait til summer (due to school).
    3. If I am accepted into the only local sleep study I can find as of this post, they have very modern equipment and are covered by most insurance (yay!)
    4. I thought maybe I was dehyrated, so I left a gatorade by my bed (for some reason I become too 'alert' if I drink water). I am thinking this is helping; I've drank some while sleeping but didn't get up. Woot?

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