Wellness Brief
A 5pm dinner rez in SF? Obviously
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Compared to the rest of the country, 5 o'clock dinners in San Francisco are much more popular.
Why it matters: Eating earlier in the day supports your body's natural clock — boosting metabolism and improving sleep, experts say.
By the numbers: 19.8% of Resy reservations were made during the 5 o'clock hour in 2024, according to Resy data shared with Axios.
- That's the time slot with the biggest discrepancy from national data — which has also shifted earlier since pre-pandemic times.
Between the lines: If you have a later dinner, but eat the same amount, "that by itself leads to an increase in cravings, changes in appetite hormones and fewer calories burnt across the waking hours," Frank Scheer, Harvard Medical School professor and Medical Chronobiology Program director, told Axios.
The intrigue: Even during simulated night shifts, eating during the day could benefit heart health, per a new study coauthored by Scheer.
Bottom line: 5pm dinners aren't just for seniors.