Posted by Bonnie C on March 23, 2003, at 19:00:14
In reply to Re: Night Eating, posted by noa on March 23, 2003, at 10:36:50
> this has hit the news lately, and I believe it is being defined as a sleep disorder, not just an eating disorder.
>
> I have had episodes of this in recent years, too. When I do this, I am awake, but not fully awake, ie, very drowsy/sedated, under influence of the serzone and ativan I take before bed.
>
> I am not hungry when I do this. It is more of a restless sleep thing and I feel like I won't relax unless I eat. Sometimes, I sit and watch tv and eat something (usually sweet, yes) and then I sometimes fall asleep in the chair watching tv, which is another problem.
>
> It happens occasionally. Most nights, I either don't have the urge, or am able to resist it.
>
> I suspect if I went back to exercising regularly it would not be a problem.I, too am groggy when I wake up and head for the kitchen but am aware that what I'm doing is not what I want to do, I just do it anyway, as if my will is not my own. I do it every single night. As I said, several times during the night. I never sit to eat, or watch TV, I stand in the kitchen, take a bite of whatever is available that is sweet and if that's not on hand, chips will do just fine (usually just one bite) and then go back to sleep. I had read that a very small percentage of the population were night eaters and that it was related to stress. In my situation, it began with a very stressful time in my life. I would go to bed and my mind would race with all sorts of unpleasant thoughts about what was going on so I began to put a video in, always a movie that I'd seen a million times, so that when I closed my eyes, I would hear the movie and still be able to see the image in my head. This worked for me as far as getting to sleep much easier without the negative thoughts. The stress in my life lessened, but the movie thing became a habit and I thought perhaps that was what was making me wake up so much, so recently I began to turn the TV off the first time I woke up (I still need the initial crutch to get to sleep). Doesn't matter. I still wake up and still go to that kitchen. Like you, I am not hungry when I do this. Unlike you, I always am compelled and can never resist the urge. I just wish I knew of a way to stop it. Which reminds me of a MAD TV skit where Bob Newhart plays a psychiatrist and his patient is trying to explain what behavior she would like to curb and he interrupts her each time with a firm, "Just stop it!" Ah, if it were only this simple!
poster:Bonnie C
thread:211611
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030319/msgs/211911.html