From Rehearsals To Restroom Runs, The Late Night Dinner Debate Unfolds

This is Mary-Katherine Maddox. At approximately 3am, on the morning of October 21st (an unsuspecting Tuesday), she woke up from a deep sleep because she had to poop really bad. LOL!!  She is going to commit the act of homicide when she sees this story and realizes that I have completely aired out her nearly-soiled laundry. But, I'm doing this for science and it's important to share her story. It provides vivid illustration and context for a necessary discussion.

See, the night before, she and I had a very late rehearsal for Theatre Workshop of Owensboro's Cabaret Nights event. We were asked to emcee the Halloween edition and had rehearsal with the cast. MKat and I do a morning radio show and we get up incredibly early. We have routines that we normally stick to, but rehearsal had Mary-Katherine out until almost 8:30pm. I didn't get home until around 9:30pm.

At her house, Mary-Katherine dove into a bowl of Classic Cheeseburger Soup that I made for her. See, I'm really a good friend, despite the fact that I previously discussed the unpredictability and explosive behavior of her bowels.

At my house, I dove head and mouth first into an appetizer of chips and salsa and some delicious empanadas for my main course.

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I normally never eat dinner that late at night. But Tuesday, I didn't have a choice. I hadn't had a chance to eat and, after an hour-and-a-half of tennis and then an hour-and-a-half of rehearsal, I was starving. So, just 45 minutes before I climbed into bed, I ate like I was just expelled from the television show Survivor.

So, on our morning show, MKat and I asked our listeners this, "Do you ever have dinner really late?"

Then, I decided to do a quick Google search. I typed in "What time should you eat dinner?" and immediately found THIS recent article from USA Today. Hannah Yasharoff, who did the research and wrote the story, interviewed Marisa Moore, a registered dietician and author of the book The Plant Love Kitchen.

Marisa says there absolutely is a 'worst' time to eat dinner. It's basically "under two to three hours before going to sleep and/or laying down."

Uh oh! If that's the case, then I guess it's a really bad idea to be shoveling Home Chef 'Heat & Eat' Beef and Cheese Empanadas into my pie hole moments before hitting the hay. Same goes for Mary-Katherine, who was going spoon-deep into the storage container of soup I gave her. Just hours later, she was springing out of bed and going cheeks-deep into her porcelain throne.

I also decided, again because of science, to consult a local expert as well. I reached out to my friend Merritt Bates-Thomas, a registered dietician who recently launched the The Kitchen Transition on Facebook and Instagram.

Here's the advice she shared!

In general, for many of us, the best time to eat dinner is between 5pm and 7pm. Try to eat about 3 hours before going to bed to reduce the risk of reflux while sleeping. The best dinner time may be different for individuals with specific health concerns or different work schedules.