‘Sleep-eaters’ who pile on the pounds
As Robbie Williams blames his weight gain on sleepwalking to the fridge for nocturnal snacks, we look at an increasingly common phenomenon
COLD macaroni cheese and cookies dipped in peanut butter are obvious temptations to avoid if you are trying to maintain a healthy physique yet these high-calorie options are the nightly preference of Robbie Williams. He admits he is putting on weight due to eating treats – in his sleep!
But the superstar singer wakes up the next morning with no recollection of his nocturnal raids on the fridge. As he revealed on his video blog: “I’m doing this very weird thing and it’s been for over a year now where I nighteat.” Unfortunately for Williams, 43, who has faced a long battle to control his weight, his nightly kitchen visits see him “not eating kale but sugar”.
The former member of Take That is struggling with a condition that means he has no control over what his sleeping self chooses to consume. Nocturnal sleep-related eating disorder (NSRED) is a little-known ailment that has left him on a permanent daytime diet in a bid to counteract its influence.
“I am absolutely asleep and I get up and I go and eat,” he added. “I don’t do it on purpose – I’m not aware it happens – but it happens. It’s been super weird, as you can imagine, and leaves me not a lot of room for bad stuff during the day because the bad stuff happens at night when I am asleep.”
The only evidence is crumbs, used plates and an expanding waistline – despite his determination to stick to a healthy diet.
In fact what Williams is experiencing is less abnormal than he fears. An estimated two per cent of the population are said to experience NSRED, which can be ongoing or appear once or twice and then disappear. But although the condition sounds humorous it can have serious consequences.
As well as weight gain, sufferers face an increased risk of contracting Type 2 diabetes and some individuals have been injured as their safety-averse subconscious minds seek out their treats.
ONE woman gained half a stone in two months while others have experienced black eyes caused by walking into walls or furniture and cuts from knives used to prepare food while they are sleeping. Dental problems have been caused by gnawing on frozen food while some have eaten paper or nail polish.
Perhaps it is not surprising that sleep-eating can lead sufferers to feel depressed, frustrated and ashamed. Experts believe that many write off their strange behaviour as an unfortunate quirk of personality.
The first case of NSRED was reported in 1955 but it wasn’t until 1985 that the first study of the condition began and proved that those afflicted were generally completely unaware of what they were doing. It also revealed that two thirds of sufferers are female and that most had become overweight because of the condition.
Once they had discovered why they were putting on weight the majority of patients on the study began to compensate by increasing exercise levels and restricting daytime eating – just as Robbie Williams has done.
“There’s zero, sad, shameful secret treats [during the day] because I have my treat in the middle of the night when I don’t even know about it,” Williams explained. His wife Ayda Field says he has been on a diet since he was called fat at the age of 15 when he was in Take That. She also revealed that Williams is so determined not to get out of shape that he always refuses cake – even on his birthday and at Christmas.
But while it is possible to deal with the symptoms of NSRED the underlying reason for the behaviour continues to mystify scientists. Dr Carlos Schenck, a professor of psychiatry who was the producer of the 2004 documentary Sleep Runners – which examined people with a range of “parasomnias” including NSRED – believes that eating during sleep does not necessarily mean a daytime eating disorder (although sleep-eating may be more common among people with disorders such as anorexia).
“Those who swear or eat frozen ravioli, or wander in the hallway in their underwear while asleep generally have no more of a psychological disorder than those who sleep peacefully every night,” he wrote in his book Sleep: The Mysteries, The Problems And The Solutions.
He also explained that sleepeating is a non-REM sleep disorder, meaning it occurs when the patient is not dreaming and when their eyes may be open.
“They are in a kind of no-man’s land, not fully awake asleep,” he suggested.
The good news is that treatment options do exist. Diagnosis usually involves a night under observation in a sleep lab, where brain activity is monitored. Those found to have the condition are generally told to avoid sleeping tablets because they usually fail to stop the problem while leading to a greater risk of injury and confusion.
However, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), a type of antidepressant, can stop the behaviour in some cases.
But until he seeks treatment it looks as if it will be candy all the way for Williams. nor fully