The question is, what time should we have dinner? Complicated because the answer may depend on other related factors such as when we eat or when we go to sleep. Even though, The answer is probably: before. Or long before.

Taking care of what we eat is important: our bodies need a varied diet that provides us with balanced amounts of macro and micronutrients. But when we eat that is something we need to pay attention too.

Spain is one of them Countries where dinner is served later: between 9 and 10 p.m very often. It could be said that this happens because the Spanish people’s lifestyle habits are outdated (or precisely because our clocks are more advanced).

However, statistics on the time we sleep in different countries vary greatly. For example, if we take into account statistics about the time at which different countries sleep World Population Overview We can understand that bedtimes do not vary much: countries like Spain, France and Italy sleep between 12:15 and 12:35; but so do countries like Norway or the UK.

Another study however they show it more striking differences between one country and another, which may explain, at least in part, the differences between different dinner times in different countries.

The answer to the question of when should we have dinner To some extent, this depends on what we want to achieve.. Often the question arises in the context of weight loss.

There is a number of studies which links our circadian rhythm to levels of obesity or body fat. One from 2017for example, observing a direct relationship between late food consumption and body fat levels.

There are two explanations for this phenomenon. The first has to do with the hunger we accumulate. The longer we delay dinner, the hungrier we will be so we will eat more. This is important because the number of calories we consume will have a more important influence about our body mass.

The second is related to our circadian rhythm and will explain why, still eat the same way, we can gain weight by eating tonight. “When you eat late at night, you are goes against your body’s circadian rhythm,” epxlica Alexis Supandietitian at the Cleveland Clinic.

Several authors they show In this case, the problem arises when our body starts to secrete melatonin, that is, when preparing for sleep. According to this hypothesis, it is at this time that it is advisable to stop eating.

It’s not about losing weight

However, our body’s health does not only depend on accumulated fat. late dinner They can cause discomfort due to the appearance of gastric reflux.It is also capable of disrupting our rest by not letting us sleep.

The appearance of reflux depends on various factors such as diet and the internal condition of our body, but this phenomenon tends to occur during digestion, so if we want to avoid it coinciding with our sleep hours, it is best to leave some time between sleep times. have dinner and go to bed.

How long? Most experts point to that at least three hours must pass between dinner and our bedtime, although some extend this period up to four hours.

This means that if we want to go to bed at 11, for example, and assuming we need half an hour to eat dinner, then we should be sitting at the table around 7.30pm. If we take the “average time” at which Spaniards go to bed, 12:30, we can have dinner even later, around 9 p.m.

There are other contexts where the schedule may be different. For example, people with type 2 diabetes should have greater control over the timing of their meals.

Improve our habits to avoid eating in the last hours of the day This is not the same as being hungry at night. Sometimes it is better to satisfy that hunger than not, even if this requires a late “snack.”

Of course, in this case we have to prevent these “snacks” from coming in the form of unhealthy products by prioritizing fruit and vegetables. It is also recommended to avoid drinks containing alcohol or caffeine before bed.

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Image | Stefan Vladimirov