Sleep-Related Eating Disorder

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), recognizes several disorders in which nocturnal eating serves as a symptom. Sleep-related eating disorder (SRED) is often discussed distinctly from eating disorder presentations and is described as a condition in which an individual eats with an absence of control typically during the transition from nighttime sleep to states of arousal. However, it is important to discern whether sleep-related disorders play into typical disordered eating presentations. In the DSM-5, night eating disorder, in which a majority of calories are consumed at night, stands as an otherwise specified eating disorder. In some cases, these behaviors are a part of binge eating disorder, whereas in others, they may represent a unique nocturnal eating pathology. Many clinicians who ...