The combination of stress and eating late at night can cause serious problems in your digestive system, a new study suggests.

Stressed people who regularly ate after 9 p.m. were significantly more likely to experience digestive problems like constipation and diarrhea, and this habit was also linked to a less diverse gut microbiome.

The findings were presented in Disease Week. of Digestion 2026, reports EatingWell.

You’ve finished a long day at work, dinner is late, and you end up eating a large meal after 9 p.m. A new study shows that this combination—high blood pressure during the day and a late meal—may be harmful to gut health. While it’s long been known that stress disrupts digestion and late-night eating is linked to symptoms like constipation, the new findings suggest that the combination of these two factors has a much stronger negative effect.

Researchers analyzed data from more than 11,000 adults collected as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, looking for links between three main elements: chronic stress, late-night eating, and bowel dysfunction.

They measured stress using allostatic load scores, an indicator of long-term stress on the body that is reflected in parameters such as body mass index, cholesterol and blood pressure. They defined late-night eating as consuming more than 25% of daily calories after 9 p.m.

People with high allostatic load who consumed more than a quarter of their calories after 9 p.m. were 1.7 times more likely to suffer from constipation or diarrhea compared to people with lower levels of stress who did not eat. late.

Data from the American Gut Project showed even more drastic results: High-stress individuals who ate late at night were 2.5 times more likely to have gut problems than less stressed individuals who ate earlier. They were also found to have significantly less diverse gut microbiomes, suggesting that mealtimes can amplify the negative effects of stress on the gut via the so-called gut-brain axis.

“It’s not just what you eat, but also when you eat it. When we’re stressed, the timing of our meals can do a double whammy on our gut health,” said lead author Dr. Harika Dadigiri. The research is observational and the full study has not yet been peer-reviewed, but the findings are consistent with previous work.

A 2025 study published in the Journal of Eating Disorders found that eating at night was significantly associated with digestive symptoms, including constipation. Similarly, a 2026 study of medical students published in the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care found a significant link between higher levels of stress and constipation.

If you tend to eat late or snack after 9 p.m., especially during stressful times, the solution is not to create additional stress by feeling guilty. Instead, consider a few simple changes. Try to eat your last meal earlier, ideally a few hours before bed, and get most of your calories during the day.

Keeping a structured routine and eating around the same time each day can support your circadian rhythm, which plays an important role in healthy digestion.

Don’t forget to address the root cause of the problem – stress. Small habits like a short walk, a few minutes of deep breathing, or going to bed at the same time can help relieve chronic stress. Finally, a diet rich in fiber from plant sources such as legumes, vegetables, fruits and whole grains, along with good hydration, feeds beneficial gut bacteria and supports overall digestive health.

Source: prizrenpost