Eli5: why if you eat before bed your body isn’t more efficient in handling nutrients and use them to repair the body while you sleep?

Question

Eli5: why if you eat before bed your body isn’t more efficient in handling nutrients and use them to repair the body while you sleep?

In: Biology

Answer 1

Your digestive system slows significantly while you sleep—this is why it’s uncommon to wake up in the middle of the night suddenly needing to poop—so if you eat too soon before bed the food is just sitting around in a semi-processed state. If you actually give your body time to process the food before going to sleep, it does exactly as you say.