There are the night owls who refuse to turn the stove on until half past eight and eat out only when the late-night ambiance draws in the crowds. Then, there are those hangry ones who loathe a late dinner reservation and swear by an early meal well before the sun sets. Like my mom says, who wants to sit hungry for hours just to eat when the cool kids do?
Dinner times have been trending earlier. According to Resy, an online reservation platform, more people have been making reservations at 5:30 in New York City, and fewer people have been making them at 8 p.m. compared to years prior. Last year, the number of dinner reservations made before 5 p.m. doubled compared to 2019, according to Yelp. Not to mention, an unintended benefit of the 5:30 dinner is having your pick of the litter at more restaurants that tend to get booked weeks in advance in the seventh hour.
Wherever you sit on the pendulum that is the debate over the best time to eat dinner, there’s a growing case that an early-bird meal can help improve your overall health and well-being.
The health benefits of an early dinner
It may help prevent heartburn
Tara Schmidt, a registered dietician of the Mayo Clinic Diet, says eating earlier dinners can help those who often have heartburn and acid reflux after eating.
Eating three to four hours before bed can help prevent GI distress, which can keep people up at night and prolong digestion. Having an early dinner means there’s time after to go on a walk or do an activity, which also helps with digestion rather than sitting or getting right in bed, Schmidt adds. Digestion is best “when light is present and the body is active,” Schmidt says. “You’re going to have lower blood sugar levels because your blood sugar rose during that meal. But now that you’re exercising, it’s going to come back lower.”
If you are done eating by 6:30 and go to bed around 9:30 or 10, you give your body ample time to digest, limiting reflux, indigestion, and heartburn, says Ilana Muhlstein, a registered dietician, nutritionist, and author of Love the Food that Loves You Back.
You may make better food choices
Eating earlier in the evening gives us time to make healthier decisions about what we consume, says Muhlstein. We can make a nutritious meal consisting of whole foods versus grabbing the easily accessible highly processed options in the pantry or freezer when coming up against the bedtime clock. “When you come home from work hungry, it’s the perfect opportunity to fill up on nutritious, satisfying foods like protein and vegetables,” she says.
Have you ever become the unpleasant, hangry friend who begins to get agitated waiting for the 8 p.m. dinner? Guilty. If you’re hungry right after a long workday but don’t usually eat until later, you may find yourself mindlessly snacking out of hunger and boredom as you wait.
“If you assume 5:30 p.m. is ‘too early’ for dinner, you might end up snacking on processed carbs like chips and crackers, which can lead to overeating,” Muhlstein says.
If you’re still hungry after an early dinner, don’t fret. You may consider adjusting the time you eat. If you need a snack, Schmidt recommends grabbing something high in water content, like easily digestible fruit, or a food high in fiber and protein to sustain fullness, like a whole grain.
You may lower your disease risk
Eating late at night has been associated with a higher overall calorie intake and an increased risk for obesity. One study suggests that the hormone responsible for feeling full, leptin A, decreases later in the day, which can lead to overeating when you have a late meal. Particularly for those with diabetes or obesity, eating earlier can also help with insulin sensitivity.
“When insulin levels are high, the body’s ability to burn fat is blocked,” Muhlstein says. “Lower insulin levels are essential for those trying to lose weight and convert existing fat stores into energy. Eating dinner earlier and adopting a ‘dinner and done’ approach allows your body more time in a fat-burning state.”
Research suggests that keeping your meals within a short window of six to eight hours earlier in the day, a form of intermitten fasting called early time-restricted feeding, can also stabilize blood glucose levels. However, this approach is not best for everyone, and it’s important to consult with a licensed professional before committing to any strict fasting regimens.
Another plus of the early dinner is that, similar to how routine bedtimes are critical to our health, eating around the same time helps regulate our body’s natural sleeping clock or circadian rhythm. “Having an erratic eating pattern can increase your risk of disease,” Schmidt says.
You are reaping the benefits of quality time
You may optimize not only your physical health but also your social health by eating dinner with the early birds. Planning to eat dinner earlier can prompt you to get together with others and enjoy a meal together by being intentional about time. A 2021 study analyzing data from the American Time Use Survey found that families who eat dinner before 6:15 p.m. report spending more quality time with their children.
A plethora of research highlights how eating dinner with others boosts mental health and well-being and gives meaning to what can otherwise be a rushed, mundane experience.
How to become a 5:30 p.m. dinner convert
- Find the right dinner time for you, even if it’s not the early-bird special. If you’re hungry after a 5:30 dinner before you go to bed, it might be too early for you. Consider testing out a 6:30 or 7 p.m. meal.
- Avoid late-night snacking. Schmidt warns that eating an early dinner and then snacking late at night offsets the benefits. “We know that when people eat later at night, they have a higher risk of obesity,” she says.
- Plan ahead for the busy days. “I recognize that my kid has sports every Wednesday, so every Wednesday is going to be crockpot Wednesday because we have to get in the house, change over, get them dinner, and get out again, as opposed to waiting until after practice,” Schmidt says.
Keep in mind, experts have said that what is on your plate is still more important than when you eat. Half the plate should consist of non-starchy vegetables, a fourth should have lean protein, and another fourth should have a whole grain or starchy vegetable.
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