Late Night Eating Linked to Depression and Anxiety

A 2022 study found that eating at night can have negative effects on your mood. The study, conducted by researchers at Harvard Medical School’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) in the United States, found that night time eating can increase feelings of depression and anxiety.

Researchers enrolled 19 participants and randomly put them into two groups. The people in the ‘Daytime and Night time Meal Control Group’, which simulated the schedule of night shift workers, had meals according to a 28-hour cycle and ate late at night. Those in the ‘Daytime-Only Meal Intervention Group’ had meals on a 24-hour cycle and ate during the day. Later, when they were surveyed, they found that by the fourth day those with a greater degree of circadian misalignment began experiencing feelings of depression and anxiety.

The feedback from participants in the Night time Meal Control Group indicated that feelings of anxiety and depression had risen by 16% and 26%. In contrast, there was no increase in anxiety and depression in the group who only ate during the day. This indicates that meal timing may affect people’s moods.

Frank Scheer, one of the authors of the study and Director of the Medical Chronobiology Program in BWH’s Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, said that the findings show that people who do shiftwork experience the feeling of jet lag. They have irregularities in their sleeping pattern and have a high probability of experiencing mood disorders.

Shift workers make up around 20% of the labour force and are integral to the running of hospitals, manufacturing and many other essential services. But unfortunately, working irregular hours often disrupts the balance between the brain’s internal clock and regular activities like eating. This means that shift workers also face a 25% to 40% greater risk of developing anxiety and depression.

Dr. Sarah Chellappa, who was also a co-coordinating author of the study, said that those individuals experiencing circadian disruption could benefit from “meal time intervention”. She added that the findings suggest that there is a possibility of introducing a “sleep/circadian behavioural strategy” that might also benefit other individuals experiencing mental health disorders.

Whilst this was only a small sample study, more needs to be done to establish if changes in eating times can help people suffering from mood disorders said Chellappa. “Meal timing is emerging as an important aspect of nutrition that may influence physical health” she said, but “the causal role of the timing of food intake on mental health remains to be tested”.