Health
Rare sleep disorder causes people to cook and eat food while they're asleep
A rare health condition could be causing some people to eat while they’re sound asleep.
Sleep-related eating disorder (SRED) is an abnormal behavior called parasomnia that occurs during sleep.
The condition causes a person to eat — and in some cases even prepare food — while asleep, according to experts.
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Kara Becker, a certified eating disorders specialist and national director of eating disorder programs for Newport Healthcare in California, told Fox News Digital that people who experience this sleepy snacking usually have no recollection of it the next morning.
A person can have more than one sleep-eating event per night — and it can happen even if the person isn’t hungry, Becker noted.
The person is “generally not aware” of the sleepwalking or “might only have a hazy awareness,” said a clinical psychologist. (iStock)
Certain medications can cause SRED, as can smoking cessation, alcohol and drug use, stress, narcolepsy and dieting, according to the expert.
Drug-induced SRED can also occur after taking sedative-hypnotic drugs to treat insomnia, Cleveland Clinic noted on its website.
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Symptoms of the disorder can include repeated episodes of “out-of-control” eating and drinking when asleep, eating strange combinations of foods, or loss of appetite in the morning, Becker said.
The expert also flagged the dangers that can come with cooking or eating during the night, such as fires, burns and cuts.
Symptoms of the disorder can include repeated episodes of “out-of-control” eating and drinking when asleep, eating strange combinations of foods, or loss of appetite in the morning. (iStock)
Fox News Digital also spoke to clinical psychologist Kelly Baron, PhD, director of the behavioral sleep medicine lab at the University of Utah, about symptoms and dangers of non-REM parasomnia.
SRED can cause dental issues and can interfere with weight-loss goals, Baron noted.
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“In some cases, the person could cook and injure themselves or run into things,” she warned.
“People can eat non-food items at times,” Baron said. “I wrote a case series with a colleague and one patient had eaten dog food in his sleep or a casserole with his hands, making a big mess.”
People with SRED could “fall or bump into things” or cut or burn themselves during an episode, an expert warned. (iStock)
Consuming large amounts of calories without mindfully eating is “not recommended for anyone and can be very disruptive to adequate nutrition consumption,” Becker added.
“Some may even consume hazardous substances at night without knowing, putting their health immediately at risk.”
So who is at risk?
SRED episodes are more likely to occur with lack of sleep, so conditions like snoring and obstructive sleep apnea can be risk factors, according to Cleveland Clinic’s website.
People are more likely to have SRED if they’re closely related to someone who sleepwalks, if they feel stressed out or sleep-deprived during the day, if they suffer from an eating disorder, or if they have anxiety or depression.
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“For other people, having another sleep disorder can trigger sleepwalking behavior, including night eating, so having a sleep evaluation is really important,” Baron advised.
Those suffering from this condition should be evaluated at a sleep center, an expert said. (iStock)
For some people, sleepwalking is an inherited risk that continues from childhood into adulthood, according to Baron.
Treatment options
There are several treatment options for SRED, including reducing and eliminating triggers and addressing other sleep disorders, Baron told Fox News Digital.
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People can also implement techniques to improve sleep behaviors and try taking medication, the expert said.
Becker also suggested implementing safety precautions at home, like installing locks on kitchen cabinets and refrigerators and removing dangerous obstacles.
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People with SRED should also get “plenty of regular sleep,” she encouraged, as the condition can heighten with sleep deprivation.
“It’s also recommended to participate in a sleep study so that your health care provider can better understand your nighttime activity,” she said.
SRED is most common in women under 20 years old, according to Cleveland Clinic. (iStock)
SRED is a condition separate from night eating syndrome (NES), which causes people to feel compelled to eat before bed or to wake up multiple times in the night to eat and then return to bed, Baron said.
SRED is most common in women under 20 years old, according to Cleveland Clinic, but it can occur in anyone.
Between 1% and 5% of adults experience parasomnia.
Experts suggest seeking a health care provider if SRED episodes are suspected.
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As colorectal cancer (CRC) is now the leading cause of cancer death in adults under 50, a new report reveals some surprising shifts in the incidence of the disease.
Although rates of CRC have been declining among seniors, those 65 and under are facing a rise in diagnoses, according to a report titled Colorectal Cancer Statistics, 2026, from the American Cancer Society.
Adults 65 and younger comprise nearly half (45%) of all new colorectal cancer cases — a significant increase from 27% in 1995, states the report, which was published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
The disease is rising fastest among adults 20 to 49 years old, at a rate of 3% per year.
Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in adults under 50. (iStock)
Among adults 50 and under, 75% of colorectal cancers are diagnosed at an advanced stage. Half of the diagnoses in that age range are made between the ages of 45 and 49. Although that age group is eligible to receive routine screenings, just 37% do so.
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The report also revealed that rectal cancer is on the rise, now accounting for about one-third (32%) of all CRC cases — an increase from 27% in the mid-2000s.
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“After decades of progress, the risk of dying from colorectal cancer is climbing in younger generations of men and women, confirming a real uptick in disease because of something we’re doing or some other exposure,” said Rebecca Siegel, senior scientific director, surveillance research at the American Cancer Society and lead author of the report, in a press release.
Among adults 50 and under, 75% of colorectal cancers are diagnosed at an advanced stage. Half of the diagnoses in that age range are made between the ages of 45 and 49. (iStock)
“We need to redouble research efforts to understand the cause, but also circumvent deaths through earlier detection by educating clinicians and the general public about symptoms and increasing screening in people 45-54 years.”
It is projected that 158,850 new cases of colorectal cancer will be diagnosed this year, and that the disease will cause 55,230 deaths, per the report.
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More than half of CRC cases can be linked to high-risk behaviors, the researchers said. Those include lack of nutrition, high alcohol consumption, smoking, lack of exercise and obesity.
“These findings further underscore that colorectal cancer is worsening among younger generations and highlight the immediate need for eligible adults to begin screening at the recommended age of 45,” said Dr. William Dahut, chief scientific officer at the American Cancer Society.
When the disease is caught at a local (early) stage, the five-year survival rate is 95%. (iStock)
“The report also shines a light on the crucial importance of continued funding for research to help discover new therapies to treat the disease and advance patient care.”
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When the disease is caught at a local (early) stage, the five-year survival rate is 95%, the report stated.
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A new study suggests that middle-aged men may be more vulnerable to faster biological aging, potentially linked to exposure to “forever chemicals.”
The research, published in the journal Frontiers in Aging, examined how perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, more commonly known as PFAS, could impact aging at the cellular level.
PFAS are synthetic chemicals commonly used in nonstick cookware, food packaging, water-resistant fabrics and other consumer products, the study noted.
Their chemical structure makes them highly resistant to breaking down, allowing them to accumulate in water, soil and the human body.
Chinese researchers analyzed blood samples from 326 adults enrolled in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 1999 and 2000.
A new study suggests that middle-aged men could face accelerated biological aging at the cellular level due to exposure to PFAS. (iStock)
The researchers measured levels of 11 PFAS compounds in participants’ blood and used DNA-based “epigenetic clocks” — tools that analyze chemical changes to DNA to estimate biological age — to determine how quickly their bodies were aging at the cellular level, the study stated.
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Two compounds, perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and perfluorooctanesulfonamide (PFOSA), were detected in 95% of participants.
Higher concentrations of those chemicals were associated with faster biological aging in men of certain age groups, but not in women.
“People should not panic.”
The compounds most strongly linked to accelerated aging were not the PFAS chemicals that typically receive the most public attention, the researchers noted.
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“The associations were strongest in adults aged 50 to 64, particularly in men,” Dr. Xiangwei Li, professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and the study’s corresponding author, told Fox News Digital.
“While this does not establish that PFAS cause aging, it suggests that these widely present ‘forever chemicals’ may be linked to molecular changes related to long-term health and aging.”
The study found that two of the compounds were detected in 95% of participants, and higher levels were linked to faster biological aging in men ages 50–64. (iStock)
Midlife may represent a more sensitive biological period, when the body becomes more vulnerable to age-related stressors, according to the researchers.
Lifestyle factors, such as smoking, may influence biological aging markers, potentially increasing vulnerability to environmental pollutants.
While Li said “people should not panic,” she does recommend looking for reasonable ways to reduce exposure.
That might mean checking local drinking water reports, using certified water filters designed to reduce PFAS, and limiting the use of stain- or grease-resistant products when alternatives are available.
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Meaningful reductions in PFAS exposure will likely depend on broader regulatory action and environmental cleanup efforts, Li added.
The researchers noted that midlife could be a particularly sensitive stage, when the body is more susceptible to stressors associated with aging. (iStock)
Study limitations
The researchers outlined several important limitations of the research, including that the findings show an association, but do not prove that PFAS directly causes accelerated aging.
“The study is cross-sectional, meaning exposure and aging markers were measured at the same time, so we cannot determine causality,” Li told Fox News Digital.
The study was also relatively small, limited to 326 adults age 50 or older, which means the findings may not apply to younger people or broader populations.
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Researchers measured PFAS levels using data collected between 1999 and 2000, and today’s exposure patterns may differ.
Li added that while PFAS is known to persist in the environment and the body, these results should be validated through larger, more recent studies that follow participants over time.
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