Eating Related Sleep Disorders

Nocturnal eating syndrome is a combined type of eating and sleep disorder that is more frequently seen in females than males. This is one of the two types of combined eating and sleep disorder the other one being sleep-related food disorder. These two disorders are also known as parasomnias.

People suffering from nocturnal eating syndrome have the habit of waking up several times in the night in search of food. People who face this condition are generally wake up with a drop of a pin. People suffering from this condition have the notion that if they do not consume some food they will not be able to sleep again. So, they rise up to find some food that they can eat and usually gulp down something that they can lay their hands on. The person is totally alert during this episode and will recall it the morning after. As this is a mixed disorder concerning eating as well as sleep, the person will be seen to suffer from symptoms like insomnia. A qualified doctor should be approached to seek management of the condition and this person should have sufficient experience in dealing this kind of dual disorders. People with this disorder show good prognosis if their sleep hygiene gets better

Food disorders that are sleep related like nocturnal eating syndrome is more common in females than males and is actually a modified form of sleepwalking. People suffering from this disorder will wake up partially from their state of intense sleep and begin to search for food. They may end up consuming food that they will usually never consume thinking it is very unhealthy. You might even see people with this disorder eating frozen foods, raw and uncooked foods, strange combinations and even pet foods. They will tend to be very slipshod in handling the food and might even end up injuring themselves. The person is not fully awake and it is hard to rouse the person from this state. Also, the person will not be able to recall the incident that happened in the night. There is no association between hunger and the craving for food in this syndrome because a person suffering from this condition will search and eat food even if they have had a heavy dinner before bedtime.

The exact causative factor behind food related sleeping disorder is not correctly understood although many factors for initiation are known. Some of these initiating factors will include use of medication like lithium, a mood stabilizer or zolpidem, which is a benzodiazepine receptor. People suffering from problems like personality disorders or conditions like bulimia have an increased tendency to develop such a sleep disorder that is also concerned with eating problems. People with other kind of sleeping disorders like insomnia, narcolepsy, periodic limb movement disorder and sleep apnea also have a risk of developing these eating disorders.

Sleepwalking is another common phenomenon in people suffering from sleep-related food disorder. So, many times these people will receive an improper diagnosis of suffering from sleepwalking rather than sleeping disorder that is related to eating. Management of the condition is quite effective with the use of prescription medication. Some of the prescribed medicines will include antidepressants, anticonvulsants, dopamine agents and opiates. When the person ceases to sleepwalk, the eating disorder will also be controlled.

People who have sleep-related eating disorders tend to be overweight due to the increased calories they consume. This increase in weight can further lead to other types of sleep disorders like obstructive sleep apnea. For this reason, it is of utmost importance for people suffering from such disorders to seek professional help and treatment.