A longevity expert claims you should close the kitchen by 7pm if you want better sleep, balanced hormones, and a slimmer waistline – especially once you hit your thirties.
Dr Poonam Desai, a former ER doctor who specialises in preventative health, says late-night meals wreak havoc on the metabolism, disrupt hormones, and set you up for morning sugar spikes that leave you feeling tired and hungry.
‘When you eat after 7pm, you may convert calories into fat faster than you ever thought,’ Dr Desai, a hormone and nutrition specialist, explained in an Instagram post.
That’s because melatonin – your sleep hormone – doesn’t play well with insulin, the hormone that helps regulate blood sugar.
Together, she says, these hormones create ‘a recipe for trouble’ when it comes to late-night eating – and men and women over 30 are more sensitive to it.
Eating late forces your metabolism into overdrive, raising your heart rate and body temperature.
This not only affects your waistline, but also makes it almost impossible to fall into deep, restorative sleep.
Without that, your body misses crucial repair time, leaving you feeling drained and unproductive the next day.
Dr Poonam Desai, a physician specialising in preventative health and longevity, says late-night meals wreak havoc on your metabolism, disrupt your hormones, and even set you up for morning sugar spikes that leave you feeling tired and hungry
Late-night eating also keeps cortisol elevated, which can promote belly fat and disrupt your body’s circadian rhythm
The melatonin-insulin clash can also cause you to wake up starving because poor sleep raises ghrelin, the hormone that tells you you’re hungry, while lowering leptin, which signals fullness.
‘You wake up craving unhealthy foods, and the cycle begins all over again,’ Dr Desai said.
Research shows poor sleep can cause a 23 per cent increase in morning blood sugar levels due to cortisol – your stress hormone.
Late-night eating also keeps cortisol elevated, which can promote belly fat and disrupt your body’s circadian rhythm, particularly when combined with screen time and low daylight exposure.
Hence, Dr Desai says late dinners often spiral into Netflix binges, poor sleep, hormone chaos, weight gain and frustration.
But the fix can be surprisingly simple.
‘Clients who close their kitchen at 7pm often find they shed fat more effectively and get much better sleep,’ she said.
‘It’s one of the easiest longevity hacks you can do.’
