Minecraft wiki entry for The_second_day, associated text: Note that if you are staying at full health, and not fighting, sprinting and/or jumping, or mining blocks, then you use almost no food. Thus, if your character has a secure place to stay, you can just stay put to conserve food while waiting out the night, a storm, or crop/animal growth. Walking around at normal speed uses no hunger. So if you are injured and/or hungry, it's best to wait out the night quietly in your home (perhaps doing some crafting or smelting) until daylight, when it is safe to go out and find some food. Sleeping works too unless you're actually starving, in which case you can't sleep at all since you'll be taking damage.