Although binges can occur at any time of day, people with binge-eating disorder are more likely to have problems with eating in the late afternoon and late evening. The most likely time for a binge is four o'clock in the afternoon.
Late evenings trigger binges especially if you are alone or if everyone else in the family has gone to bed. Depression and other negative emotions become more pronounced in the evening hours and can lead to emotional eating.
In fact, Dr. Albert Stunkard, the psychiatrist who first reported this type of binge eating, has identified a pattern of eating known as night eating syndrome. This syndrome is characterized by eating very little or nothing early in the day followed by binge eating in the evening. The pattern is often associated with insomnia. Many people with this problem awaken during the night and binge before going back to bed. Whether this behavior is just a variation of binge-eating disorder or constitutes a separate eating disorder remains to be seen. I believe it to be so typical that it is simply another form of binge-eating disorder.
Binge eating occurs almost exclusively when a person is alone. In fact, the sudden appearance of another person may end the overeating episode. Compulsive overeating can happen anywhere—at home, while driving, or at work. You may notice that certain situations are more associated with your binges than others, such as during the preparation of a meal or just after grocery shopping. |
