Grazing, the biscuit tin, the evening undoing the day
Hypnosis for eating at night
You eat well all day, and then the evening arrives. Dinner turns into grazing, grazing turns into the biscuit tin, and by bedtime the day’s good intentions have gone.
Evening eating is one of the most common patterns I see. It isn’t a lack of willpower. By the evening you’re tired, your guard is down, the day’s stress is catching up with you, and food is the quickest way to relax.
Many people find that once the evening has a new routine, the pull towards the kitchen gets quieter.
Why late night snacking happens
- Not eating enough earlier in the day, so you’re genuinely hungry by evening
- Using food to switch off after work or once the children are in bed
- Eating in front of the TV or phone without noticing
- Tiredness and late nights, which make cravings stronger
- A habit that has simply been repeated for years
How to stop eating at night: things you can try today
- Eat a proper breakfast and lunch so the evening starts on a level footing
- Decide when the kitchen closes, and brush your teeth after your last meal
- Eat at the table rather than in front of a screen
- Find a new wind-down routine, such as a bath, a book or a short walk
- Go to bed a little earlier: tiredness is a craving amplifier
If the evenings undo your good days
If you’ve been good all day and still end up in the kitchen at nine, that isn’t a lack of discipline. Tiredness, habit and winding down are doing the steering.
We look at what the evening eating is doing for you, whether that’s comfort, reward, boredom or a way to mark the end of the day. In hypnosis I help you build a different evening routine that meets the same need, and rehearse the moments that usually send you to the kitchen. Sleep often comes into it too, so we may work on that as well.
I’m Adam Cox, a clinical hypnotherapist with 17 years in practice and post-graduate qualifications in clinical hypnotherapy. I also host The Hypnotist podcast, which has passed 20 million downloads.
Please read this first
If you regularly wake in the night and feel you have to eat to get back to sleep, or you eat very little during the day and a lot at night, mention it to your GP or contact Beat, the UK eating disorder charity, on 0808 801 0677. It can be worth ruling out other causes, and support is available.
Common questions
Is eating late at night bad for you?
When you eat matters less than what and how much you eat overall, but late eating often means extra eating that you didn’t plan. That’s usually the part worth changing.
Can I listen to the sleep sessions in bed?
Yes, that’s what they’re designed for. Never listen to any hypnosis recording while driving or doing anything that needs your full attention. More in my guide to sleep hypnosis for weight loss.
How long before I notice a difference?
It varies from person to person, and I can’t promise a timescale. What matters most is the practice you do between sessions, alongside sensible eating. It varies from person to person.
How do I stop late night snacking?
Make the evening less of a trigger. Eat a proper dinner so you’re not genuinely hungry later, decide when the kitchen closes, and give yourself something else to do at the time you’d usually reach for food, such as a bath, a walk or an early night. Keep the foods you graze on out of sight. Most late night snacking is about tiredness, boredom or winding down rather than hunger. In my sessions I use hypnosis to help you feel more settled in the evening, which may make the pull less strong. The free suitability test is a good place to start.
Why do I eat at night when I’m not hungry?
Because the evening is when your guard comes down. After a long day you’re tired, the structure has gone, and food becomes a way to relax, reward yourself or fill the quiet. If you’ve eaten lightly during the day, real hunger can add to it. None of this means something is wrong with you. It’s a habit that has been repeated so often it now runs on its own. Working out which of these reasons fits you is the first step, and it’s what I focus on in a consultation.
Is it a problem if I wake up in the night to eat?
Now and then, it’s usually nothing to worry about. If you regularly wake in the night and feel you can’t get back to sleep without eating, please mention it to your GP. That pattern can be part of a condition called night eating syndrome, which needs proper medical assessment, and it isn’t something I treat. If your eating ever feels out of control, you can also call Beat on 0808 801 0677. For the more common pattern of grazing through the evening, the ideas on this page are a good place to begin.
Free guides on this
Plain-language guides with free hypnosis sessions from my podcast to listen to.
- Winter, comfort food and darker eveningsDark evenings and cold weather pull us towards comfort food. Here is a kinder way to think about the winter months, with three sessions to try.
- Stress eating: why a hard day ends in the kitchenStress eating soothes for a few minutes and then adds guilt. Here is what it is really doing, and how to let pressure pass without the fridge.
- Snacking on autopilot: noticing the moment before you reachMost snacking is habit, not hunger. Learning to catch the second before you reach can change a lot.
Where to start
Is hypnosis right for you?
Take my free four minute suitability test for evening eating. You get an honest answer about whether hypnotherapy is likely to help, and how.
Want help to take back your evenings?
A short call is the simplest next step.
- Take the free test, so you know whether hypnotherapy suits you.
- Book a 30 minute call: £24.50 with code SLIM instead of £49 (or $29.50 outside the UK). The fee comes off your first session.
- Start sessions over Zoom, or face to face in Hertfordshire.
Or start with a recorded session
Sessions from my store, recorded for this kind of eating. Listen somewhere comfortable, never while driving.