Eating breakfast in the middle of the night

[Petals23]

I have got into an awful habit of eating my breakfast any time from 2am on if I wake up. I have had anxiety and feel that I won't get back to sleep if I don't eat something. Has anyone else overcome this?

I do not suffer from anxiety but I often wake up hungry in the middle of the night and struggle to get back to sleep if I dont have something to eat .
I guess some of it depends on if it is the lack of food that is worrying you or something else and you comfort eat and that helps you to relax and go back to sleep.
What kind of things do you eat ?
I generally have a slice of toast or snack on some left overs but I have started taking a small snack to bed with me that doesn't need to be kept in the fridge , cereal bar , mini chedders some times a very small piece of cheese etc . I dont always wake up but if I do I will eat that and snuggle back down and go to sleep .

I always have the same thing... a bowl of cereal and a coffee!

Coffee at 2am doesn’t sound ideal!

Do you not eat again till lunch time, or do you have another breakfast? Do you have a weight issue?

Its a running joke in my house that i get the midnight munchies i am up most nights having a small snack on something or other.

I'm not sure coffee is usually considered a sleep aid?

You feel you won't get back to sleep without food, but what happens if you try? What happens if you try to calm your anxiety with something else?

Op, I’ve just looked at your other posts, you’re very slim, do you go to bed hungry and that maybe the issue? You’re starving and need to eat?

i'd probably ditch the 2am coffee OP.

I would ditch the coffee. A hot chocolate might be better.

Waking up to drink coffee is not doing your sleep patterns any favours...

Well, assuming the coffee is caffeinated, that’s not going to help you get back to sleep. Other than that, I’m not really seeing the problem unless you have a history of disordered eating?

Ooh interesting. I wake up at 2 every might and go down and binge eat. Not good.

Wasn’t there a thread about someone who kept two hard boiled eggs next to their bed for when they woke up hungry? Definitely cut the coffee, maybe hot chocolate, milk is a soporific

Can you keep some oatcakes and a glass of water on your bedside table? If I got out of bed, went to kitchen and made and ate breakfast then I'd never get back to sleep and I'm usually a good sleeper.

A better thing to eat would be a bowl of porridge with some honey and / cinnamon on top as oats are calming and it should help you sleep and fill
You Up quickly but no coffee.

You have an eating disorder please go to your gp ASAP.

Coffee when you can't sleep?!

Try eating the cereal last thing before you go to bed instead . Maybe try a big bowl of porridge instead of cereal

quite seriously if you have anxiety i'd really recommend going cold turkey on caffeine for a few days to see what happens once you get over the headache. ime you would be amazed!

@Verily1
I think to say someone has a eating disorder because they like snacking in the middle of the night is a bit presumptuous.

However help to deal with any anxiety may be be a good idea.

I agree with PP coffee is not a good idea for most people , however caffeine does not affect everyone the same way ( it has little effect on me )

I have an ED and do this too. I'm trying to get out of it. I always regret having the cereal when I do. I'm determined to stop though as it means I can't eat anything for a long time after. Argh!

@AlCalavicci agreed but i would have said the same thing until i gave it up... so it's worth a try!

@FelicityBeedle Chrissy Teigen (John Legend's wife) said on twitter that she makes two hard boiled eggs every night to eat when she wakes up in the night.