Earlier last meal
Bring dinner forward. Acts mainly on next-morning glucose.
Order of magnitude
Last calories at least three hours before sleep.
The pooled trials used 6 to 10 hour windows, which is stricter than "last meal by 19:00".
Effects in detail
Each row is a directed edge from our database, with range, latency, evidence grade and the condition under which it applies at all.
| Marker | Effect | Latency | Mode of action | Outcome | Evidence | Condition | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diastolic blood pressure | helps. Lowers -1.75 mmHg one bound only: the source prints no interval Eleven randomised trials in 653 non-diabetic adults give a systolic reduction of 1.79 mmHg and a diastolic reduction of 1.75 mmHg with time-restricted eating. Point estimates from the batch-1 source; single bounds entered. | not specified | chronic | unclear | Evidence grade B | applies regardless of the starting value | |
| Systolic blood pressure | helps. Lowers -1.79 mmHg one bound only: the source prints no interval Eleven randomised trials in 653 non-diabetic adults give a systolic reduction of 1.79 mmHg and a diastolic reduction of 1.75 mmHg with time-restricted eating. Point estimates from the batch-1 source; single bounds entered. | not specified | chronic | unclear | Evidence grade B | applies regardless of the starting value | |
| HOMA-IR | helps. Lowers -0.58 HOMA-IR units confidence interval of the estimate, not the range one person can expect 11 randomised trials with 653 participants give HOMA-IR -0.58 (95 % CI -0.81 to -0.35), fasting insulin -2.00 µIU/mL and fasting glucose -2.65 mg/dL, with heterogeneity described as negligible to moderate. The trials used windows of 6 to 10 hours, which is stricter than 'last meal by 19:00'; the effect of the looser habit is unknown. | not specified | chronic | unclear | Evidence grade A | applies regardless of the starting value |
What this measure costs
Counteracting effects of the same measure.
No counteracting effect is on file for this measure. That does not mean there is none, only that we found no defensible edge.
Moves without implying progress
Informational or no established effect: the marker moves or was checked, and that is not progress.
| Marker | Effect | Latency | Mode of action | Outcome | Evidence | Condition | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HbA1c | checked, nothing happens. No established effect confidence interval of the estimate, not the range one person can expect Ten randomised trials in 599 people with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes found no overall HbA1c effect of time-restricted eating (-0.30 percentage points, 95 % CI -0.63 to +0.02, p = 0.06, moderate certainty), with a small significant reduction confined to the prediabetes subgroup. Graded A because it is a meta-analysis of randomised trials with a stated moderate certainty, and recorded as a no-effect row because that is what the pooled estimate is. | 17–17 weeks | chronic | unclear | Evidence grade A | applies regardless of the starting value | |
| HDL cholesterol | checked, nothing happens. No established effect No meaningful lipid effects were found, HDL-C included. | not specified | chronic | no | Evidence grade B | applies regardless of the starting value | |
| Triglycerides | checked, nothing happens. No established effect The authors state that time-restricted eating does not appear to have meaningful effects on lipid profiles in the absence of caloric restriction. A no-effect row that matters commercially: this dial is often sold as a lipid intervention and the trial evidence does not support that unless calories fall too. | not specified | chronic | unclear | Evidence grade B | applies regardless of the starting value |
Sources
Full details of every study the rows above rely on.
Effects of time-restricted eating on markers of glucose metabolism and regulation in individuals with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials
Viple et al. · Diabetologia · 2026 · Meta-analysis
Effects of time-restricted eating without caloric restriction on cardiometabolic risk factors in non-diabetic adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Yi et al. · Frontiers in Nutrition · 2025 · Meta-analysis