There are the night owls who refuse to turn on the stove before 8:30 a.m. and only eat out when the nighttime atmosphere draws the crowds. Then there are the hungry people who loathe late dinner reservations and swear by an early meal long before sunset. As my mother says, who wants to sit around hungry for hours just to eat when the cool kids are doing it?
Dinner times are trending earlier. According to Resy, an online reservation platform, more people in New York City are making reservations at 5:30 p.m. and fewer at 8 p.m. compared to previous years. 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 5:30 p.m. dinner is that you have your pick of places at more restaurants that typically book up by the seventh hour, weeks in advance.
No matter where you stand on the debate about the best time to eat dinner, there is a growing argument that eating early can improve your overall health and well-being.
The health benefits of an early dinner
It can help prevent heartburn
Tara Schmidt, a registered dietitian with the Mayo Clinic Diet, says eating dinner earlier can help people who often experience heartburn and acid reflux after eating.
Eating three to four hours before bed can prevent gastrointestinal upset that can keep people awake at night and delay digestion. Eating dinner early means you have time for a walk or activity afterward, which also aids digestion, rather than sitting or going straight to bed, Schmidt adds. Digestion is best “when there is light and the body is active,” Schmidt says. “Your blood sugar level will be lower because your blood sugar went up during that meal. But now that you’re exercising, it’s going to go back down.”
If you finish eating by 6:30 a.m. and go to bed around 9:30 or 10 a.m., you give your body adequate time to digest and limit reflux, indigestion and heartburn, says Ilana Muhlstein, a registered dietitian, nutritionist and author of Love the food that loves you.
You may make better food choices
Eating earlier in the evening gives us time to make healthier choices about what we eat, Muhlstein says. We can prepare a nutritious meal from whole foods instead of reaching for the easily accessible, highly processed options in the pantry or freezer as bedtime approaches. “Coming home from work hungry is the perfect opportunity to fill up on nutritious, filling foods like protein and vegetables,” she says.
Have you ever been that awkward, hungry friend who gets restless while waiting for dinner at 8 p.m.? Guilty. If you’re hungry right after a long day at work but don’t normally eat until later, you may find yourself mindlessly snacking out of hunger and boredom while you wait.
“If you think 5:30 p.m. is ‘too early’ for dinner, you may end up snacking on processed carbohydrates like chips and crackers, which can lead to overeating,” says Muhlstein.
If you’re still hungry after an early dinner, don’t worry. You can adjust your meal times. If you need a snack, Schmidt recommends something high in water content, like easily digestible fruit, or a food high in fiber and protein to keep you feeling full, like whole grains.
You can reduce your risk of disease
Eating late in the evening is associated with higher calorie intake and an increased risk of obesity. One study suggests that the hormone leptin A, responsible for satiety, decreases later in the day, which can lead to overeating when eating a late meal. Eating earlier may also help with insulin sensitivity, particularly for those with diabetes or obesity.
“When insulin levels are high, the body’s ability to burn fat is blocked,” says Muhlstein. “Lower insulin levels are essential for those who want to lose weight and convert existing fat stores into energy. Eating dinner earlier and taking a ‘dinner and done’ approach will keep your body in the fat-burning state longer.”
Research suggests that you can also stabilize your blood sugar levels by eating your meals within a short window of six to eight hours earlier in the day, a form of intermittent fasting called early time-restricted feeding. However, this approach is not for everyone, and it’s important to consult a licensed professional before embarking on any strict fasting plans.
Another benefit of eating dinner early is that regular bedtimes are crucial for our health. Eating at roughly the same time helps regulate our body’s natural sleep clock, or circadian rhythm. “Irregular eating habits can increase your risk of disease,” says Schmidt.
You benefit from quality time
You can optimize not only your physical health but also your social health by eating dinner with the early birds. Planning to eat dinner earlier can lead to meeting with others and enjoying a meal together by being intentional with 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 time with their children.
Numerous research findings underscore that shared dinners improve mental health and well-being and add meaning to an otherwise hectic, mundane experience.
This will bring you to dinner at 5:30 p.m.
- Find the right meal time for you, even if it’s not the early bird option. If a 5:30pm dinner leaves you hungry before bed, it might be too early for you. Try a 6:30pm or 7pm meal.
- Avoid late-night snacking. Schmidt warns that eating dinner early and snacking late in the evening will cancel out the benefits. “We know that people who eat late at night are at higher risk for obesity,” she says.
- Plan busy days in advance. “I realize my kid has sports every Wednesday, so every Wednesday will be Crockpot Wednesday because we have to get in the house, change, make them dinner and get back out again instead of waiting until after practice,” Schmidt says.
Remember that experts have said that What What’s on your plate is still more important than when you eat. Half of your plate should be non-starchy vegetables, a quarter should contain lean protein, and another quarter should contain whole grains or starchy vegetables.
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