Nigella Lawson may have made the midnight munchies look glamorous as she crept downstairs to whip up feasts in her clinging black satin nightgown. But for sufferers of night-eating syndrome, excessive and uncontrollable feasting during the night can cause misery. In typical cases, people who suffer from night-eating syndrome are prone to stress and disrupted sleep.

Each time they wake, they head for the kitchen to eat food high in carbohydrates, such as chocolate, cake, bread and biscuits. Night eaters may consume half their daily calorie intake after their evening meal and this frequently leads to weight gain. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found typical nocturnal eaters consumed 500 calories more than those whose sleep was undisturbed.

It appears that night eating is a result of a brain chemical imbalance — eating boosts the feel-good chemical serotonin in night eaters’ bodies, thus stimulating sleep. Adrienne Baillie-Carrigan, 44, from Fleet, Hampshire, suffers from the disorder.

“I wake at least once a night and raid the kitchen,” she says. “I have done this for years, but it’s only recently I discovered that what I thought was my personal oddity has a proper title.”

She is convinced there are thousands of people like her who do not realise that they suffer from a recognised medical condition. “When I wake, I’m totally awake and have to get up,” she says. “I’ll eat something sweet like chocolate and wolf down the whole bar. Then 10 or 15 minutes later I’ll be sleepy again and by the time I’m back upstairs I’ll be ready for sleep. I suffer from stress-induced clinical depression, and I think my night-eating is symptomatic of my mental state. The more stress there is in my life, the more often I wake up. I’m supposed to be losing weight, so raiding the carbs in the middle of the night doesn’t do much for my self-esteem.”

While not regarded as an eating disorder of the potential severity of bulimia or anorexia, Beat, the British charity for people with eating disorders (www.beat.co.uk), recognises the “eating distress” of night-eating syndrome. “People affected crave sugary and starchy food, which can have a soothing effect: we don’t call these types of food ‘comfort food’ for nothing,” explains Susan Ringwood, Beat’s chief executive.

“Night eating syndrome often emerges at times of emotional stress. It becomes a way of coping, a form of self-medication. But in the long-term it may add to this distress, with feelings of guilt and shame at uncontrollable eating urges. Related weight gain may in turn make sufferers feel shameful and uncomfortable.”

According to Ringwood, it is estimated that one per cent of the population could have this problem at some stage in their lives, and more than a quarter (27 per cent) of those who are overweight will have had night eating syndrome.

“There is also a vicious spiral affect,” she says. “If you’ve eaten during the night you’ll be less hungry in the morning and hungrier at night, so the pattern of eating is reinforced.”

Professor Gaby Badre, a sleeping disorders specialist at the London Clinic, says the syndrome is most common in women. “It often occurs in stressed career women. I remember one successful executive who was very controlling about her daytime eating, but went to sleep with a bowl of sweets next to her bed for dipping into during the night.”

The majority of night time eaters do not seek medical advice, unless sleep deprivation or weight gain are dramatically affecting their ability to function. Prof Badre says that anti-depressants can be helpful in treating night eating syndrome.

Specialists in eating disorders believe it can be equally helpful to establish a less chaotic daytime eating pattern and understand triggers of the night-time binge, whether it is stress or feelings of low self-worth.

ARE YOU A NIGHT-TIME BINGER?

Night eaters often skip breakfast and eat irregularly or little during the day.

Night eaters consume more than half their daily food intake after supper.

Night eaters sleep badly and feel an overwhelming urge to eat immediately after waking up during the night.

Night eaters feel tense, anxious or guilty about their eating behaviour and associated weight gain.

Daily Telegraph