Exercise and eat before bed. How do I handle it?

Watch the portion sizes for late-night snacks.

Only 16 percent of Americans age 15 and older participate in sports and exercise activities regularly, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. After adding to this statistic that less than 32 percent of adults in the US are of healthy body weight, the need for healthy eating and exercise habits becomes clearer. For many, long work days mean workouts and dinners are scheduled close to bedtime.

Meaning

When it comes to getting enough exercise and eating right, timing your workouts and meals is less important than making time and choosing healthy foods. If you can make the time to spend 30 minutes exercising before bed, you’ll reap the same calorie-burning and fitness benefits from training as your neighbor who hits the trails at 6 a.m. m. The same principle applies to your meals: it’s generally better to eat a healthy, calorie-conscious meal an hour before bed than to have something processed, fast, and high-calorie at 5 p.m.

Exercise problems

If exercising at the end of the day or eating before bed interferes with your sleep, you may want to rethink your schedule. Not getting enough sleep can interfere with weight loss, even if you exercise regularly and monitor your caloric intake, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Exercise speeds up your metabolism and can increase your alertness, which might not be ideal right before bed. If your night workouts keep you awake, try to schedule your workouts at least three hours before bed.

Eating problems

Lying down when you’re full or hungry can also lead to insomnia. For this reason, planning an early dinner and a light snack a few hours before bed can be beneficial. A trend for late-night eaters is to consume more calorie-dense foods and more calories overall, either due to distractions from television or lack of planning. Although eating at night is not necessarily related to unhealthy eating patterns or overeating, it is important to plan balanced meals and healthy snacks in advance.

Considerations

Planning your exercise and eating routine is generally a matter of personal preference and convenience. However, if your schedule is flexible, you might find it helpful to experiment a bit with your routine. You may find, for example, that exercising first thing in the morning increases your energy in the morning or eating at 5 p.m. And a snack two hours before bed keeps you from feeling hungry at night and helps you get a good night’s sleep.