The time we eat is quite possibly the most important part of our overall wellness and health, yet it is the one thing that everybody forgets in today’s world. While we sit there tallying calories or arguing over whether we should be keto or vegan, we forget the “when” of eating. Having dinner early, 7-8 PM, is quite possibly the easiest but most impactful change you can make.

Why Early Dinner Matters?

In yogic life, we should have dinner half an hour after sunset, and we should sleep 2–3 hours later. It is the natural rhythm of the body, and our internal mechanism by which we are informed to sleep at night. Our ancestors followed it unconsciously, and scientists nowadays praise its marvelous advantages.

Here are the 9 incredible benefits of eating an early dinner and why you should think about making the change.

1. Improved sleep quality

One of the most obvious and easiest advantages of an early dinner is good sleep. If dinner is 2–3 hours before you go to bed, digestion is over before sleeping, and thus your body has the luxury to rest completely at night. A relaxed digestive system makes you sleep peacefully, undisturbed, doesn’t let you oversleep, and makes you feel fresh and rested in the morning.

2. Weight Loss and Metabolism Boost

Early dinner consumption puts your body under an intermittent fasting schedule because the interval between dinner and breakfast increases. What happens during fasting is that the body starts to burn stored fat instead of glucose. As a result, it improves metabolic function in your body and helps in losing weight. Moreover, the body can stabilize blood sugar, which feels ideal for diabetic patients. 

3. Constipation and Gastrointestinal Relief

Early food intake provides the digestive system time to digest food without pulling an all-nighter. Resting is beneficial to the excretory system, which helps minimize constipation, bloating, and flatulence. A healthy gut also benefits from enhanced immunity and improved nutrient absorption.

4. More Morning Energy & Productivity

When you wake up after a sweet night’s sleep, without getting distracted by the digestion issues, it can lead to enhanced energy. Mental clarity and better morning function occur as you get ample time to perform yoga and gym activities. 

5. Improved Appetite & Eating Patterns

If you eat in the early evening, you will wake up with hunger pangs and should not skip morning breakfast—the breakfast meal is reported to be the most important meal of the day. This practice places your levels of hunger throughout the day such that you naturally adopt healthier portions and eating habits. As time goes by, your transformation contributes to nutrient balance, improved metabolism, and healthy food intake.

6. Acid Reflux Relief

Having it too close to bedtime will most likely cause acid reflux or heartburn. This is when acid or stomach contents back up into the esophagus because of lying down close to eating. Research indicates that individuals who eat dinner at least three hours before bedtime greatly lower their chances of developing acid reflux symptoms.

7. Lower Risk of Heart Attack

Late dinners disrupt your regular blood pressure patterns. Under normal circumstances, blood pressure decreases when sleeping to enable the heart and blood vessels to rest. Late dining maintains high blood pressure, exposing you to cardiovascular incidents such as heart attacks. It is better to dine early because it provides time for your heart to rest normally, and you are cardiovascularly healthy.

8. Lower Diabetes Risk

An earlier evening meal increases insulin sensitivity in the body. It is a chance for your body to utilize glucose efficiently without falling asleep, thus avoiding insulin spikes that can lead to type 2 diabetes. In supporting stable blood glucose, an earlier evening meal is a powerful method of avoiding one of the world’s most common lifestyle diseases.

9. Reduced Risk of Cancer

New evidence reveals that people who eat late in the evening are 15% more likely to get prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women. This is likely because late-night meals interfere with the body’s night-time detox and repair mechanisms, when they are most effective. Eating earlier lets these mechanisms work at their optimum, suppressing inflammation and cell damage.

Bonus: 10 More Reasons to Eat Dinner Early

In addition to the 9 benefits listed above, there are 10 more health benefits of having an early dinner:

• Better digestion and nutrient absorption
• Enhanced synchrony of circadian rhythms
• Improved efficiency of burning calories
• Enhanced stability of blood glucose levels
• Low triglycerides and cholesterol
• Lower blood pressure surges
• Improved metabolic health
• Prevention of midnight munching
• Better mental clarity the following day
• Less variable hormone release

How to Implement Early Dinner in Your Life?

To implement an early dinner in your life, it may be difficult initially, but you will learn it soon. At first, make sure to fix a dinner time between 6-8 PM and focus on light eating. You can have a light walk to support the digestion process. For a mindful early dinner, don’t look at screens and distractions. Every day, practice will start bringing change, so make sure to stay consistent, and you will experience a better life.