Sleep-related eating disorder (SRED) is a sleep disorder that causes people to eat and drink during sleep with little consciousness or awareness of what they are doing. Some people with SRED have no memory of their nighttime snacking episodes, while some people can partially recall them.
Most people with SRED have frequent sleep-eating episodes. SRED has the potential to cause harm because people may consume inappropriate foods or substances during these episodes, such as raw meat, frozen food, or cleaning products.
The majority of people with sleep-related eating disorder are women, with the disorder emerging during their 20s or 30s. It often occurs together with sleepwalking. People who experienced sleepwalking as a child are more likely to develop SRED. The disorder can also occur in people who are taking medications to help them sleep.
SRED is not the same as night eating syndrome. Night eating syndrome involves excessive eating in the evening hours or eating after awakening during the night. Night eating syndrome is considered an eating disorder, while SRED is classified as a sleep disorder.