Thursday, April 8, 2010

Sleep Eating: Raiding the Fridge While Sleeping

Source: New York Times (Summary by NIM)

Imagine waking up to a pile of crumbs, food wrappers, a full stomach and bad breath but not remembering how any of it happened? Yes, this may be the case for some people following a night of hard partying, but to others, it's a depressing reality that happens at random for no apparent reason.

According to doctors, sleep eaters make a bee-line for the fridge while sleep-walking, and eat anything high-calorie, sugar- or fat-laden and generally unhealthy. They can sometimes do this up to five times in one night! One woman confessed to waking up to a pile of wrappers from her kids' chocolate Easter bunnies, and having gained 7 pounds over a span of two months. Sleep eaters also run the risk of being seriously injured, as they oftentimes bump into things, get bruised, cut themselves on kitchen knives, or even eat non-food items like nail polish.

While sleep itself is still poorly understood, it's difficult to say why this happens to roughly 1% of the population. If this is something that might be happening to you, speak to your doctor. Some people are too embarrassed to discuss this with anyone, but it's worth a talk!

Find out more about this bizarre condition by reading the article called "Raiding the Refrigerator, but Still Asleep" from the New York Times (Apr. 7, 2010).