What time should you eat dinner? Healthiest time to eat dinner

See the new TikTok food trend taking fiber to the max

“Fibermaxxing” is a dietary trend that focuses on increasing fiber intake. Participants share videos of their recipes to get as much fiber as possible.

Your mom may have told you to “be home by dinnertime” as a child, but that hour can vary for everyone, from an early bird special at 4:30 p.m. all the way to 10 p.m. dinner reservations.

Many people have specific lifestyle parameters or preferences that dictate when they break bread in the evening. But are certain dinner times healthier than others?

“I’ve been getting this question for as long as I’ve been practicing as a registered dietitian, and the answer is nuanced,” says Marisa Moore, MBA, RDN, LD, a registered dietitian nutritionist and author of “The Plant Love Kitchen.”

Here’s what nutrition experts want you to know about how your dinner time can (and can’t) impact your health.

Protein-enriched foods are all the rage. Are they OK for kids to consume?

Healthiest time to eat dinner

Unfortunately, there’s no easy answer for one best or healthiest time to eat dinner; that “largely depends on your lifestyle, bedtime and what you’re eating,” Moore says.

For example, a meal that’s smaller, low-fat and on the bland side might be less triggering to your digestive system if you’re eating it closer to bedtime. And a person who regularly goes to bed at 9 p.m. could have a very different dinner time than someone who’s turning the lights off at 1 a.m.

What is meal sequencing? Health experts explain whether the rising diet trend works.

Is 7 p.m. too late to have dinner?

Though Moore says “there is no one best time to eat dinner,” there is a worse time: Under two to three hours before going to sleep and/or laying down.

“Eating large meals too close to bedtime can interfere with digestion and sleep quality,” Moore says. “This is especially important if you already have or are trying to prevent gastric reflux, which can be exacerbated by late night meals – especially ones containing spicy, acidic or fatty foods.”

So if you’re going to bed before 10 p.m., it may be best to aim to serve dinner closer to 6 p.m. or earlier.

But, it’s important to note that one night of suboptimal digestion and sleep quality won’t kill you. Nutrition experts also stress the importance of eating when you’re hungry, so if you find your stomach growling or notice other hunger cues late into the evening, listen to your body and have something to eat.