Night eating syndrome is a condition in which people eat a large amount of food after the evening meal, often waking up throughout the night to eat. People with this condition may not feel hungry in the morning. They may delay their first meal of the day for many hours.

This pattern of eating cannot be explained by changes in the person's sleep schedule or local social routines (for example, a custom of eating late at night). People with this problem feel upset about their night eating.

People with night eating syndrome also have sleep problems, including difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. People with this problem are more likely to be obese. And depression is common in people who have night eating syndrome.

Treatment may include cognitive-behavioral therapy or antidepressant medicine.

Doctors are not sure what causes night eating syndrome. But some studies show that it may be related to problems with the sleep-wake cycle.