Only a doctor can properly diagnose and treat sleep eating. She will likely ask about your medical history, prior sleep disorders (if any), medication list, recent changes in habits or lifestyle, and other factors that may indicate SRED. Remember: sleep eating is not an imaginary condition, nor is it a personal failure. It is also unlikely to go away on its own. If you suspect it, seek a proper diagnosis and treatment options.
In a sleep study, numerous probes and monitors will be attached to you in order to track your vital signs and sleep patterns. Even if they do not catch you getting up to sleep eat during the study, this detailed information can indicate a range of sleep habits and conditions that are often present alongside SRED.
Especially if you have experienced life changes that have increased your stress levels or risk for depression — the end of a long relationship, a death in the family, taking on a new job, quitting smoking or drug abuse, etc. — consider professional counseling as a means to deal with possible triggers for your sleep eating. Along with therapy for depression and stress management, assertiveness training may also benefit some people. Even though sleep eating is not a question of “mind over matter,” learning to become more decisive and in control of oneself does seem to help some people with SRED.
First-line treatment is usually is selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. The recommended dose is between 20–30 mg/day. For some people, anti-convulsant medications such as topiramate (100–300 mg/day)[6] X Trustworthy Source PubMed Central Journal archive from the U. S. National Institutes of Health Go to source and zonisamide seem to be of great benefit. [7] X Trustworthy Source PubMed Central Journal archive from the U. S. National Institutes of Health Go to source For others, dopaminergic agents (often used to treat conditions like Parkinson’s disease) such as pramipexole may be used in combination with a low dose of benzodiazepines (such as clonazepam) and opiates. Sleeping pills, however, most notably Ambien, seem to increase the likelihood of sleep eating episodes and should be avoided if you have the condition.
Don’t try to restrain yourself in bed, lock yourself in your room, or hide your food. People with SRED are often very resourceful and determined during a sleep eating episode, and will usually achieve their goal in creative and sometimes destructive (or even injurious) ways. Do make sure you have functioning smoke detectors, though, because sleep eaters have been known to leave ovens and stovetops on all night. If you have someone else in the home who can wake up every so often and check for potential injuries or hazards, all the better.
Put it this way: sleep eating is an eating disorder in the same way that sleepwalking is an exercise disorder. The activity is a result, not a cause. Sleep eating is a parasomnia, a sleep disorder like sleepwalking, sleep driving, sleep talking, and so on. Sleep eating is not the same as the condition known as “night eating syndrome,” in which a person consumes most of his or her calories after 6 pm and through the night. That condition is caused by a disruption in circadian rhythms, and night eaters are fully aware of what they are doing.
Common triggers of SRED include: depression; quitting smoking, drinking, or drugs; starting or stopping a medication; rapid changes in diet; insomnia; and other sources of stress and anxiety. Sleep eating can occur without any of these triggers being present, however, so don’t discount obvious signs of SRED — unexplained messes, missing food, mystery weight gain, etc. — due to their absence. Women are more likely to suffer from SRED than men.
If you are a sleep eater, it is important to know that you are not alone, you are not to blame, and there is help available. You may benefit from seeking out support groups and interacting with others like you.
Sleep eating is not a joke or just an annoyance, then. It can be potentially dangerous to you and to others in your home. Seek treatment if you suspect SRED.
