Getting out of bed in the middle of the night, rushing to the kitchen to search for food, and devouring it while still deep in sleep. These are the unusual habits of 22-year-old Amy Koecheler from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA, since she was a child.
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| Amy Koecheler searches for food while asleep and never remembers it. ABC News captured footage of her late-night food search. (Photo: ABCNEWS.com) |
This phenomenon is known as “sleep eating,” an abnormal behavior often triggered by stress, alcohol, sleeping pills, or in Koecheler’s case, genetics.
With Koecheler’s permission, the American television show “Good Morning America” set up cameras in her apartment for a week and “caught” her eating in her sleep, capturing moments that both she and her boyfriend had never witnessed before. When watching the footage, Koecheler was astonished by her behavior. “What was I doing? I can’t believe I was eating those awful snacks…? I looked like a living zombie.” She noted that she had no recollection of her actions or the food she consumed during the night that was recorded by the camera.
However, her mother vividly remembers her daughter’s “habits.” “Since she was little, she has had a tendency to eat in her sleep,” she said. “Every night, she would wake up and go to the kitchen. Then, she would sit on the couch with her mouth, head, and neck covered in chocolate chips. And I always had to wash her hair at 3 AM.”
Four years ago, before starting college, Koecheler was sent to the Sleep Disorders Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Minnesota, where her condition improved somewhat. Dr. Carlos Schenck from the center stated: “Amy does not have an eating disorder, nor does she suffer from anorexia or binge eating. I believe her restless leg syndrome has stimulated her sleep eating problem.” Koecheler’s case is quite special: she inherited her father’s restless leg syndrome and her mother’s sleep eating disorder.
However, according to Schenck, Koecheler’s condition is relatively mild compared to some cases he has encountered that required anti-seizure medication. He noted that this is not primarily an issue about food. “Some people may be obsessed with food. But they make up a very small number. There is likely some chemical imbalance.”
At the Sleep Disorders Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Minnesota, cameras have captured around 100 patients nibbling on something while still asleep. Schenck mentioned that this happens more frequently if they are at home. “They will eat high-calorie, fatty, and carbohydrate-laden foods,” he said. “They might devour an entire cake, a tub of ice cream, or half a jar of peanut butter.”
In his new book “Paradox Lost,” Schenck recorded distressing stories from patients, including one who said: “I can’t remember what I ate or how much. I have tried to lock my mouth, tie my hands together, tape the refrigerator shut… but nothing works.”
