What is the best time for dinner?

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The best time to have dinner has been debated for years. Some say an early meal is ideal, while others say you can eat well when you feel like it.

While many people are just trying to fit dinner into their busy schedules, it makes sense to also want to eat at the best time for your health.

You may be wondering if it’s okay to eat late at night or if you should eat your last meal well before bed. And you may be wondering if having a snack right before bed is a problem.

According to nutritionists, there is some flexibility regarding the optimal time for dinner. While there is no definitive “best” time, experts agree that there is better Time to eat your last meal of the day. Here’s what they suggest and how to make your meal plan work for you.

The best (or better) time for dinner

A 2022 study published in the journal Cell metabolism found that people who are overweight or obese and eat dinner at 5 p.m. burn about 60 more calories at rest than those who eat at 9 p.m. Eating later in the evening also produces higher levels of hunger hormones like ghrelin, meaning people who eat dinner closer to bedtime tend to be hungrier.

Based on these findings, researchers found that eating between 5 and 7 p.m. is ideal for people concerned about weight control.

A 2021 study published in the journal Nutrients found that eating dinner earlier, around 6 p.m., can stabilize blood sugar levels compared to eating at 9 p.m., reducing the risk of developing conditions such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. The results also showed that eating dinner earlier can boost metabolism and potentially reduce the likelihood of weight gain.

Most importantly, eating earlier means you’re less likely to trigger gastrointestinal distress. “I recommend eating dinner at least two to three hours before bedtime so that you have time to digest the food and move it through your stomach,” says Dana Ellis Hunnes, senior nutritionist at UCLA Medical Center and assistant professor at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. “If you go to bed on a full stomach, you may be at higher risk of reflux (a condition in which stomach contents back up into the esophagus), which can be very uncomfortable.”

Reflux can cause chest pain, nausea, difficulty swallowing, and difficulty sleeping due to discomfort.

Here’s how to find the best time for dinner to suit your lifestyle

According to Patrice Paolella, lecturer in the Clinical and Clinical Studies Department, when trying to figure out the best time to eat dinner to avoid becoming overly hungry and to maintain stable blood sugar levels, it is usually helpful to look at your eating plan as a whole Maintain Preventive Nutrition Sciences at Rutgers University.

“Time meals based on your first meal of the day and allow three to four hours to pass before your next meal or snack,” she says.

For example, let’s say you eat your first meal of the day at 9 a.m. and plan to be in bed by 9 p.m. You would have lunch at 1pm, have a small snack at 4pm and then have dinner at 6pm. Your first meal is at 11am and you usually go to bed around 10pm. You might want to postpone dinner until 7 p.m., she says.

Since I get up at 5 a.m. to exercise before my four kids get up and like to go to bed at 9:30 p.m. to try to get at least seven hours of sleep, my ideal meal plan looks like this, according to Paolella’s advice :

1. Wake up at 5am
2. Have breakfast at 8am
3. Have lunch at noon.
4. Have dinner at 5 p.m
5. Go to sleep at 9:30 p.m

My current schedule is similar to this, although I usually eat a savory snack between lunch and dinner – and dinner time can vary depending on the kids’ activities.

If you eat the odd meal outside of these parameters, there’s no need to panic – it just increases the likelihood that you’ll experience reflux, indigestion, or bloating. But even that is no guarantee.

Should you eat lighter meals later in the day?

Some research suggests that consuming calories early in the day may help improve blood sugar fluctuations and overall metabolic health. However, nutritionists say it’s also important to pay attention to your hunger signals.

Eating lighter meals later in the day, like a hard-boiled egg and apple slices or a small portion of chicken with carrot sticks, can help your digestive tract overnight. “However, if you wake up hungry in the middle of the night, you may need to eat a more substantial meal,” says Hunnes.

Samantha Cochrane, a nutritionist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, recommends eating smaller portions as you wind down for the night. “If you eat right before bed, it depends on the amount you eat before bed,” she says. “Eating a large meal or snack requires a larger amount of food to digest, meaning you’re more likely to experience reflux or interrupt your sleep.”

Instead, “a small meal or snack may be better, as they require less digestion and are likely to pass through the stomach more quickly to reduce the risk of reflux,” says Cochrane.

Is eating right before bed “bad”?

If you need to eat something right before bed, nutritionists stress that’s okay—that’s just not ideal. “Our bodies need time to digest food. “So if we eat too close to bedtime or late at night, lying down on a full stomach can affect your sleep and metabolism and increase the risk of acid reflux or heartburn,” says Paolella.

A lot of it has to do with gravity, Hunnes says. “If you lie flat after eating, it’s easier for food to back up or back up into the esophagus because gravity isn’t pulling it as hard into the small intestine,” she explains. But what you eat is also important.

“Foods known to cause reflux—tomatoes, chocolate, mint, and caffeine—should be limited just before bedtime, as should very fatty foods, which slow digestion and increase the risk of reflux,” says Hunnes. She also suggests limiting gas-producing foods like broccoli, beans, and Brussels sprouts to reduce the risk of gastrointestinal distress while sleeping.

Is Is there an ideal time for dinner?

“Your personal rhythm is more important than a specific or prescribed time,” says Hunnes. So the answer is: sort of, but it depends on your routine.

Paolella recommends eating nutrient-dense foods in every meal, including whole-grain carbohydrates, fruits, beans, lean animal or plant proteins, plant-based fat sources such as avocados or nuts, and a half serving of non-starchy vegetables.

A solid mix of protein, fiber, and fat at every meal should help you get the nutrients you need while also helping you feel fuller for longer, says Cochrane.

Ultimately, the best time of day to have dinner is two to three hours before bed. But if you eat outside of that window, you should still be fine.