A friend of mine who weighs in at about 370lbs says that he frequently wakes up in the middle of the night and eats. He says that he doesn't realize that he is eating. He occaisionally will fall asleep while eating in the middle of the night and wake himself up by spilling somethign or dropping a bowl etc......

Has anyone here ever heard of this. Is there something that he can do. Please advise.

Thanks
Tom

It sounds to me like your friend needs to be tested for sleep apnea. It's a simple test -- you are monitored while you sleep -- and this problem can be helped with a number of therapies. DH nearly killed himself three years ago, when he fell asleep at the wheel on a business trip. I'd been telling him for years that he stopped breathing at night, but he didn't believe me ... until then. Now, he uses a breathing machine at night, and is 100% better.

Your friend's experience sounds similar to the experience of the husband of a friend of mine. He used to weight 460 lbs before going on a medically-supervised weight loss program, and part of his problem was that he would wake up during the night because he had sleep apnea -- he would not be fully awake, but he would get up and go to the kitchen and stand in front of the refrigerator and eat. It was not uncommon for him to find food packages, etc. on the table the next morning, and not remember at all that he was the one who had put them there.

Justa thot!

There was a fascinating article in the New York Times Magazine on Sunday, February 2, 2003 -- "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Deer." (No, I don't have that good a head for dates -- I remembered the article and just did a search on the New York Times website.) It discusses various sleep disorders including eating while semi-asleep. If you go to the New York Times website (www.newyorktimes.com) you can get a reprint of the article. Because it is more than two weeks old, you need to pay to download the article, but it is just a couple of dollars. The article quotes a lot of the researchers in the field and is probably a good place for your friend to start researching this topic.

Thanks guys I will pass the info along. Thanks for the quick research. I am sure that he will appreciate it .

I am sure I would be losing quicker if I didn't have this issue. I too have had the same problem with waking up because I spilled something on myself....or had food in bed with me in the morning....I think it is odd too....please email me if you find out anything about this....I thought I was the only one!!!!