Everyone has their own special time to eat. However, a certain time slot should be preferred for good sleep and better health.
Dinner is not the same for everyone. Some eat a lot after having a quick snack at lunchtime, others prefer to have a light meal to sleep peacefully afterwards. There is also the question of time. According to a Deliveroo study conducted in 2018, 7:35 p.m. is the average time when the French sit down at the table. In the north-east, it is a little earlier, around 7:20 p.m., while the people of the Paris region sit down at the table later, around 7:45 p.m. 12% of the French even eat after 8:30 p.m. Some European neighbors do not have the same hours at all. The Germans tend to eat around 6 p.m. while the Spanish wait until at least 9 p.m.
Who’s really right? Well, there’s no exact time, but there’s a preferred time slot, according to registered dietitian Tracy Lockwood Beckerman. “Anytime between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. is the ‘ideal’ time for dinner,” she told the HuffPost. This range is to be preferred to then have time to digest and go to bed from 10 p.m. Being full too late can have a negative effect on sleep: “if there is too much food digesting in your stomach and you lie down, this could potentially put pressure on your esophageal sphincter, leading to unpleasant reflux.”
Of course, this can change if you’re a night owl or an early riser. “Night owls should eat dinner later than early risers to reduce the risk of mindless, late-night snacking,” she explained. Early risers should also eat dinner a little earlier to space out their meal from bedtime. You should also adjust your lunch time: “The later you eat lunch, the more your body will be ready for dinner later. The earlier you eat lunch, the more your body will expect dinner earlier.”
A snack is also not to be banned according to the specialist: “a snack will allow you to make a rational and balanced decision for a dinner, because you will make your choice with a nourished and satisfied brain rather than with a hungry, impulsive or tired brain”. The expert concludes that “people should eat at a time that corresponds to their lifestyle and their sleep habits”.
But be careful, there is an hour that must not be exceeded. According to a study in collaboration between INRAE, the Barcelona Institute for Global Health and the Sorbonne Paris Nord University, there is also a direct link between meal times and the risk of heart disease. Based on 100,000 participants, it shows that eating too late is not good. According to the researchers, eating dinner after 9 p.m. increases the risk of stroke by 28%. They therefore recommend sitting down to eat before 8 p.m. and about three hours before going to bed.