There are the night owls who refuse to turn the stove on until half past eight and eat out only when the late-night ambiance draws in the crowds. Then, there are those hangry ones who loathe a late dinner reservation and swear by an early meal well before the sun sets. Like my mom says, who wants to sit hungry for hours just to eat when the cool kids do? Dinner times have been trending earlier.
According to Resy , an online reservation platform, more people have been making reservations at 5:30 in New York City, and fewer people have been making them at 8 p.m. compared to years prior.
Last year, the number of dinner reservations made before 5 p.m. doubled compared to 2019, according to Yelp .
Not to mention, an unintended benefit of the 5:30 dinner is having your pick of the litter at more restaurants that tend to get booked weeks in advance in the seventh hour. Wherever you sit on the pendulum that is the debate over the best time to eat dinner, there’s a growing case that an early-bird meal can help improve your overall health and well-being. The health benefits of an early dinner It may help prevent heartburn Tara Schmidt, a registered dietician of the Mayo Clinic Diet, says eating earlier dinners can help those who often have heartburn and acid reflux after eating.
Eating three to four hours before bed can help prevent GI distress, which can keep people up at night and prolong digestion. Having an early dinner means there’s time after to go on a walk or do an activity.