More Americans are making earlier dinner reservations, as in 5 p.m. early, Axios' Carly Mallenbaum writes.

• Why it matters: Eating dinner early could benefit your metabolic health.

By the numbers: 5 p.m. dinner reservations are more popular now than they've been in the last five years, according to Resy data.

• More than 15% of Resy reservations were made during the 5 o'clock hour this year. That time slot has seen the biggest jump since 2019.
• And reservations made for the 8 o'clock and 9 o'clock hours have dipped since 2019.

Zoom in: "Limit[ing] your calorie intake close to bedtime" — about three to four hours before bed — could help with blood sugar control and weight management, says Frank Scheer, a professor at Harvard Medical School.

• "When we delay the food intake and keep everything else the same, that by itself leads to an increase in cravings, changes in appetite hormones and fewer calories burnt across the waking hours," says Scheer, who has conducted research around mealtime and metabolic health.
• That's likely connected to the circadian clock, which reduces the energy we burn after a meal in the evening, he says.

If you want to eat something right before bed, though, some experts advise going for a small nutritious snack, like fruit or yogurt.

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Sunset to go from Finish Liner Bonnie D. taken on Lake Tahoe, on the Nevada side.