Reporting in the American Heart Association\u2019s Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology journal, the team of scientists from Northwestern University in Chicago suggest that the dietary secret to better heart health isn\u2019t just about eating healthily or eating less but about how your calorie intake aligns with your sleep. Their research on overweight adults who were at risk of cardiometabolic disease, including heart disease and type 2 diabetes, but otherwise healthy found that eating the last meal or snack three hours before bed led to measurable improvements in blood pressure, heart rate and blood-sugar control. <\/p>\n
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Closing the fridge after dinner could be the simplest step for a healthier metabolism<\/p>\n
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None of the participants in the seven-week trial changed what they ate in the evenings, just when they popped the last morsel into their mouths. In practical terms it meant wrapping up dinner or snacks by 7pm or 8pm if their usual bedtime was 10pm or 11pm. Results showed their night-time blood pressure dropped by 3.5 per cent and their heart rate by 5 per cent as a result, shifts that the lead author, Daniela Grimaldi, research associate professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, says are associated with better cardiovascular health. <\/p>\n
\u201cTiming our fasting window to work with the body\u2019s natural wake-sleep rhythms can improve the co-ordination between the heart, metabolism and sleep, all of which work together to protect cardiovascular health,\u201d Grimaldi says. She adds that this \u201crelatively simple change in meal timing\u201d could also boost night-time autonomic balance \u2014 how well your autonomic nervous system regulates processes such as breathing and digestion \u2014 and your glucose metabolism when you wake up, which helps to ward off type 2 diabetes.<\/p>\n
The researchers are not the first to encourage us to close the fridge for good once an evening meal has been consumed. Dr Kate Bermingham, a researcher at King\u2019s College London, warned two years ago that late-night calories are associated with unfavourable blood glucose and lipid levels and those who snacked after 9pm tended to eat sugary, high-fat and more processed foods. Others have suggested a link between late-evening snacking and mental health symptoms such as anxiety. Late eating can interfere with the body\u2019s internal clocks, or circadian rhythms, which help to regulate appetite, hormone release and energy use across the day. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen food is eaten close to bedtime, the body is generally less well equipped to manage blood sugar and fat metabolism,\u201d says the registered nutritionist Rhiannon Lambert, author of The Fibre Formula<\/a>. \u201cAs digestive processes compete with the body\u2019s natural wind-down period, eating late can also affect digestion and sleep quality, which can both disrupt hormones involved in appetite regulation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 Late snacking again? Here\u2019s what to eat<\/a><\/p>\n Hardcore fasting can be grim and, for many, unsustainable. Last month a Cochrane review of 22 clinical trials involving nearly 2,000 adults found that intermittent fasting, such as fasting every other day or the 5:2 diet of fasting for two days a week, is no better<\/a> at helping people lose excess weight than standard diets or no structured diet plan at all. <\/p>\n Yet most experts agree that our bodies are designed to fast overnight and that our health will benefit from re-adopting a natural food-free break between dinner and breakfast. \u201cAn overnight fast is one of the simplest ways to support long-term health,\u201d says Dr Federica Amati, research associate at Imperial College London\u2019s WHO Collaborating Centre for Health Education and Training, head nutritionist at Zoe and author of Every Body Should Know This<\/a>. \u201cIt isn\u2019t extreme fasting and it isn\u2019t about deprivation. It\u2019s about giving the body the time it expects to rest and reset.\u201d<\/p>\n It is also about reverting to habits that worked for previous generations. Some of us can remember when an evening food curfew was the norm. \u201cBefore the rise of late-night snacking and mini meals, most people simply stopped eating after dinner,\u201d says the dietician Bahee Van de Bor, a spokeswoman for the British Dietetic Association. \u201cA regular overnight fast is a way of returning to that pattern.\u201d Here is how and why it works.<\/p>\n What\u2019s the best time to have your last meal?<\/p>\n There isn\u2019t a single \u201cbest\u201d time that works for everyone but as the Northwestern team suggested, leaving a gap of about three hours before bed is the best approach. <\/p>\n \u201cA simple, practical rule is to finish your last meal at least three hours before bed, which for many people means eating somewhere between 6.30 and 7.30pm if bedtime is around 10.30 to 11.30pm,\u201d Van de Bor says. \u201cBut it is less about rigid timing and more about avoiding large meals or ongoing snacking late at night.\u201d <\/p>\n If you are someone who routinely goes to bed later at midnight or 1am, then the threshold shifts accordingly but you should always avoid nibbles after 9pm. A three-hour gap provides enough time for food to be digested before sleep. \u201cWe are generally more metabolically efficient earlier in the day and creating a buffer between dinner and bedtime helps the body shift from digestion into repair and restoration overnight,\u201d says the registered nutritionist Dominique Ludwig, author of No-Nonsense Nutrition. <\/p>\n \u2022 Read more expert advice on healthy living, fitness and wellbeing<\/a><\/p>\n And what should you eat last thing?<\/p>\n The optimal evening meal is one that leaves you feeling comfortably full, not stuffed, and allows your body to wind down overnight, rather than working overtime to process food while you are sleeping. Avoid ultra-processed foods<\/a> and large, high-fat, high-glycaemic index foods \u2014 baguettes and wraps, processed cereals \u2014 because they can cause blood-sugar fluctuations during the night. \u201cWe need to eat enough at lunchtime to carry us comfortably through the afternoon but we also do not want to overload the digestive system late at night,\u201d Ludwig says. \u201cI\u2019d recommend a plate that includes a source of protein, plenty of fibre-rich vegetables, some wholefood carbohydrates and healthy fats with about three tablespoons of wholegrains such as buckwheat, freekeh or quinoa.\u201d<\/p>\n When should you eat breakfast?<\/p>\n Aiming for a 12-hour overnight break from food, aligned with your sleep patterns is a good target. \u201cThat is a sustainable way to support metabolic regulation, gut health and potentially long-term brain health,\u201d Amati says. Consistency matters more than trying to eat as early as possible. \u201cBreakfast within one to two hours of waking works well for a lot of people,\u201d Van de Bor says. \u201cBut if you are genuinely not hungry first thing, then delaying breakfast can also work, although be careful not to push your eating pattern later into the evening when it becomes more metabolically disadvantageous.\u201d <\/p>\n Do not fall into the trap of delaying breakfast for too long. In midlife, prolonged fasting can sometimes increase stress on the body. \u201cPushing the first meal too far back often means relying on stress hormones for energy rather than nutrients from our food,\u201d Ludwig says. \u201cEqually, not eating enough at breakfast often leads to energy dips and increased cravings, which can lead to overeating later in the day, so aim for enough calories, protein and fibre at breakfast to stabilise blood sugar, energy and mood for the day.\u201d<\/p>\n