It can be so tempting when you're bored in the evening to reach for snacks. We've all been there.
And of course, whilst there's no 'wrong' time to eat as everyone's schedules are so vastly different, snacking after a certain time can have an unfavourable impact on your health, according to nutritionists.
Studies have shown that 75 percent of the snacks consumed in the UK are heavily processed, and of course, processed foods are not the healthiest.
It's not just about the snacks you're eating either - it's important that you eat them before a certain cut-off during the day.
Dr Sarah Berry recently gave insight into this on ZOE, which is a nutrition science podcast.
"Research really clearly shows that if you are snacking late, so after 6pm or very late after 9pm, it has really unfavourable impacts on your health and there are lots of other randomised control trials to support that", she shared.
On the podcast, they gave the example of people watching TV and snacking, sharing that it's very normalised in British culture, giving the TV show Gogglebox as an example.
"And on their sofa, they've got plates of sandwiches and cakes, with their mugs of tea and coffee. And in many parts of the UK, this is the tradition - you can't really sort of watch TV unless you've got some snacks there."
So it would make sense to try and snack on healthier things if you are a fan of snacking, with Dr Sarah sharing that she loves dark chocolate to satisfy cravings.
Other healthy snack alternatives could be fruit, vegetables with a dip, or unsalted nuts.
Other research points to weight gain if you eat late at night, as a study in rats found blood fats spiked when eating close to bedtime.
And according to a 2013 study, overweight people who eat early in the day lost approximately 12% of their body weight, while late eaters lost only 8%, even though they all followed the same diet and exercise regime, reports the Metro.
Snacking at night could be a sign of 'night eating syndrome', which can cause insomnia and weight gain, plus negatively impact mental health.
Night eating syndrome describes a condition in which a person eats a large proportion of their daily food intake at night, either after their evening meal or during nighttime awakenings.
If you think you may have night eating syndrome, contact your GP.
Do you have any health tips? Email: danielle.wroe@reachplc.com
