Spaniards eating dinner at 20:00?

[Universe]

Is that really common or is it just a stereotype?

[Universe]

It seems weird and unhealthy custom to me. (yet Spain have higher life expectancy than my country). Many people eat that late here in Hungary or even later, my mother often eats at 21 o clock or after that. It's not typical though.

I avoid eating that late because I don't want to gain weight, I go to bed between 22 and 23 o clock.

When do spaniards go to bed? I heard they go to bed late too.

[gixajo]

Is that really common or is it just a stereotype?

It's 22:10 and I still haven't had dinner.

I just came from the street less than a quarter of an hour ago.

[Brás Garcia de Mascarenhas]

That's really early, Spaniards usually have dinner between 21:00 and 22:00.

[Brás Garcia de Mascarenhas]

Only children go to bed at 10 p.m. The last time I went to bed at that time I was probably 10 years old.

[Defcon2]

I do have dinner at 20:00, but it is usually more frequent between 21:00 and 22:00.

[Universe]

Only children go to bed at 22 p.m. The last time I went to bed at that time I was probably 10 years old.

I have problem getting enough sleep if I am not in bed by 23:00.

[Universe]

Having late dinner can make it hard to fall asleep too.
I suppose you eat a light dinner not heavy, fatty and meaty stuff.

[Rocinante]

Common in Venezuela, not common in Spain, where people eat 5 times the day.

[Brás Garcia de Mascarenhas]

I have problem getting enough sleep if I am not in bed by 23:00.

It is not unhealthy as you may think because the daily routine is different the time spawn between dinner and the time they go to bed is probably the same as yours. It is interesting that you find it weird though because I feel the same about foreigners, I find it really weird to see tourists having dinner at 5 p.m. and going to nightclubs at 10 p.m. but I believe it has to do with the timezone they are accustomed to. Here in the summer the sun sets at 10 p.m., nightlife starts shinning usually at 1 or 2 a.m. Meanwhile in Poland when I was living in there during winter by 3 p.m. sometimes it was already almost night.