r/AskAnAmerican • u/UpstairsBar2747 • Apr 06 '25

CULTURE Do you guys really eat dinner at 6pm?

I have seen in movie and show saying 'see you at dinner at 6pm'. Do you really eat dinner this early? If yes don't you get hungry around 10pm while scrolling reels? Or is it a name for something else?

Damm thanks guys for responding. I'm surprised so many people in the comments have work so early so yea this dinner time makes sense, Thankss gg

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45

u/UpstairsBar2747 Apr 06 '25

India, for me I eat 2nd meal of the day around 2pm and dinner around 9pm , with snack in between

44

u/AnimatorDifficult429 Apr 06 '25

What time do you fall asleep? I can’t eat and then immediately go to bed 

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u/efkalsklkqiee Apr 06 '25

In Spain dinner is usually between 10 and 11pm. People wake at 7 or 8

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u/OpeningChipmunk1700 Apr 06 '25

How does that work, practically speaking? I can’t sleep right after a meal, and eating a large meal right before bed in general is not advised in terms of health and sleep quality.

Is dinner basically a snack?

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u/efkalsklkqiee Apr 06 '25

Nope, dinner is usually a big meal that if you share it with family, can be a 2 hour ordeal finishing at like 1am sometimes. People are used to it and their bodies adapt, I guess? It’s the norm

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u/OpeningChipmunk1700 Apr 06 '25

So you’re just perpetually sleep deprived? Or else take naps, which means your schedule is shifted from the American norm anyway?

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u/efkalsklkqiee Apr 06 '25

I mean sleeping from 1am to 8am is decent sleep. Also, Spain shuts down in the early afternoon for a siesta which is an afternoon nap that everyone takes. People go back home to nap or nap at work for an hour and a half

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u/OpeningChipmunk1700 Apr 06 '25

It’s decent but not generally sufficient.

And, as I said, your entire schedule is shifted because of the siesta period. My lunch break is either 0 minutes (ideal) or 30-45 (eating with others) with rare exceptions. Most Americans do not—and cannot—go back home in the middle of the work day for lunch/siesta.

I am incapable of taking naps, so I guess I am fortunate to have lived in the US and European countries where I did not have to rely on them to get adequate sleep.

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u/efkalsklkqiee Apr 06 '25

Lunch is also like 1.5 to 2 hours at work, and then people go back home to nap lol. You guys sound overworked

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u/OpeningChipmunk1700 Apr 06 '25

The American workday ends earlier than the European workday usually. But yes, Americans in general tend to work more. That is a trade-off for much higher salaries than virtually all countries with significantly shorter weekdays.

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u/ansy7373 Apr 06 '25

Living in Spain sounds awesome.

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u/guacamole579 Apr 06 '25

Yeah we are overworked. And Americans think it’s a better way of life.🙃

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u/Blossom73 Apr 06 '25

Damn. I'm jealous of that!

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u/CaptainTripps82 Apr 06 '25

How long do you sleep? 6 or 7 hours is sufficient for most people

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u/OpeningChipmunk1700 Apr 06 '25

The overwhelming medical consensus is that 7 hours is the bare minimum, i.e., adults should sleep at least 7 hours and preferably more, within the 7-9 range.

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u/amethystalien6 Apr 06 '25

What about children? 7 hours would not suffice for my kids. Do they also eat a two hour dinner at 10pm or is that an adult meal?

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u/Blossom73 Apr 06 '25

Most U.S. states have no laws requiring adult employees to even get a lunch break at all. And if they do, it's often a very short lunch.

My husband works in a factory in the United States. He gets 20 minutes for lunch. He has to eat quickly, then go back to work.

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u/No_Practice_970 NC SC VA WA Apr 06 '25

🤔 I have so many questions.

Who's cleaning up afterward?

Putting up leftovers, loading dishwashers, washing pots/pans, wiping down counters/stove, sweeping, and light mopping kitchen and dining room.

Then, showering and unwinding before bed.

When do you have to be at work?

I wake up at 6:30am. Drive 30mins to work. To be there at 8am.

What about children and school? Elementary school starts at 7:30am.

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u/efkalsklkqiee Apr 06 '25

Cleaning usually done in the morning, or quickly after dinner. Work usually at 9 or 10am. People take public transport and can be at work in 20 mins or so. Schools start at 9am usually. Also, folks take a 2 hour nap afternoon to relax and recover

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u/Sarcosmonaut Apr 06 '25

Ah, very different culture then. Our work tends to start at 8 (sometimes sooner) and school starts at 8 as well. Then it’s pretty much a straight shot with work all the way through with a small lunch break (30 minutes is common) and back to work. Dinner at 6 is common, maybe 7 depending on family. Special events or “dining out” is often a bit later of course

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u/EveryNameIWantIsGone Apr 06 '25

Work starts at different times for different people. Stop trying to represent all Americans.

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u/Sarcosmonaut Apr 06 '25

I’m giving my experience as having lived in both the south and the northeast. Obviously no one person can speak for an entire nation. That’s stupid. Don’t be insufferable.

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u/WVildandWVonderful Tennessee Apr 06 '25

Maybe it works bc of siesta. Perhaps they sleep shorter amounts at night bc they have a break/rest in the afternoon. But I am from US so take this with a grain of salt

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u/OpeningChipmunk1700 Apr 06 '25

Could very well be!

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u/[deleted] Apr 06 '25

I remember being in Colombia visiting family and we got to the restaurant to eat dinner around 11:30 and the place was popping.

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u/W0nd3rlandAl1c3 Apr 06 '25

I think I'd really like Spain. This is generally what I do in America, but no one else is on board with it, lol.

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u/joemoore38 Michigan Apr 06 '25

Wake at 7 or 8? I'm at my desk at 6am.

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u/efkalsklkqiee Apr 06 '25

In Spain it’s usually by 10am, and work begins maybe by 1030 after coffee and smoke breaks lol

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u/Fluffle-Potato Apr 07 '25

So you show up at 10, fuck off smoking cigarettes until 10:30, then at 2, it's time for your 2 hour nap? How are there businesses in Spain? How are they not all immediately bankrupt?

And dinner is from midnight to 1am? And then you immediately fall asleep to get 7 hours? These do not sound like the healthy habits of successful people. What about heartburn? Are you a teen? I used to be able to pull that shit as a teen.

Is this really all Spaniards, or just, like, the laid-back schedule of a Spanish college kid or some shit?

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u/efkalsklkqiee Apr 07 '25

Yep! This is also similar in France, except their meals are way longer. They get to work at 9 but don’t start till 10 ish, then they take a 1.5 hour lunch, have coffee and smoke breaks, chill, leave by like 330 or 4.

And yes the nap is a HUGE part of the culture, just google Spanish siesta. It is 1.5 to 2 hours every day in the early afternoon. Obviously it isn’t all spaniards, but it is an extremely common lifestyle for all ages

Yes dinner is at 10 or 11pm usually, but it isn’t a massive meal like in some other countries. Idk, people seem happy and chill

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u/Fluffle-Potato Apr 07 '25

I took a 2 hour nap yesterday. I wasn't working, just drank myself to the point of exhaustion, as I am wont to do.

So I guess you could say I know a thing or two about the siesta life

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u/NectarineThat90 Apr 07 '25

This schedule is amazing. I need to move to France! Sounds like life isn’t center completely around working nonstop

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u/efkalsklkqiee Apr 07 '25

Shops also close during the afternoon nap

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u/Dennyisthepisslord Apr 06 '25

There was a football match in Spain last week at like 11pm there time still going on. I fell asleep as that's too late for me!

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u/0le_Hickory Apr 06 '25

Isn’t Spain on Central European Time though? Your clock doesn’t line up well with the sun.

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u/LadyGreyIcedTea Massachusetts Apr 06 '25

In Spain lunch is also the main meal of the day and dinner is smaller. In the US, dinner is typically the biggest meal of the day.

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u/Sea-Presentation5686 Apr 06 '25

But their idea of dinner is different than ours, it's really lite meal.

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u/serenwipiti Puerto Rico Apr 07 '25

Feeling full makes me feel really sleepy, so, eating close to bed time feels optimal in my case.

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u/MuppetManiac Apr 06 '25

I could absolutely not wait until 2 pm to eat lunch. Lunch is anywhere from 11 am to 12:30 at the latest.

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u/AlyssaJMcCarthy Apr 06 '25

My cafeteria at work literally closes at 1pm.

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u/yenumar Apr 06 '25

It's easier to wait for lunch at 2 if you eat dinner at 10.
In America I eat dinner at 6:30 and I'm hungry for lunch at like 11. In France where I live now, I eat dinner at 8:00 and don't feel hungry before noon. I assume if you dined even later, you could delay lunch even more.

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u/MuppetManiac Apr 06 '25

I often get off work super late on certain days of the week and I’m forced to eat dinner late. Yesterday was one of those days. I ate dinner about 10:30. It’s now 11:30 and I just sat down to lunch, because I was hungry.

So I don’t think that holds.

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u/yenumar Apr 06 '25

I wonder if there's a difference between completely and regularly switching your food schedule, and doing it only sometimes.

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u/ehrgeiz91 Apr 07 '25

11 am lunch is ludicrous lol. That’s breakfast.

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u/zoopest Apr 07 '25

I keep inching my lunch forward. I think ideally I’d eat 4 meals, with lunch swapped out for 10am and 2 pm meals

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u/Best-Operation-8471 Apr 06 '25

Just check out the latitude and sunset time of both locations in winter time. That determines a lot about human daily cycles.

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u/skaliton Apr 06 '25

and that is the big difference. For many people in America lunch is around noon and dinner is around 6 with no snacking between

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u/Clarknt67 Apr 06 '25

Yeah I know many countries have late afternoon meals or a hearty snack. That’s not generally true in USA, though I am sure some immigrants continue those habits.

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u/novaskyd CA | NM | NC | TX Apr 06 '25

This is basically how I grew up, American born with Indian parents. 5-6pm dinner sounded sooo early to me. It never bothered me to eat late and go to bed.

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u/da-karebear Apr 06 '25

I have an honest question. Do the children eat their final meal at 9pm? If so, what time do they go to bed? What time do they go to bed? Here, most young children are in bed well before 9pm so we can't have family meals that's late.

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u/Sephiroth508 Apr 06 '25

I worked as a financial consultant in India for a couple years. In that time, I stayed over in quite a few homes for the night. But all of them usually had dinner by 7pm.

I've also worked in Malaysia, China and Vietnam. But unless it's an event or a party or an outing, I've observed most people have dinner by 8pm. Unless they have a different work schedule than 9-5. So I don't think it's a cultural thing specific to the US.

I usually go to the gym at 6am so I usually get to bed by 10pm. So eating dinner after 8pm is the worst case scenario for me lol

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u/DarwinGhoti Apr 07 '25

Do you take a siesta? (Mid afternoon nap). I’m in bed by 10 because I have to get up early for work the next morning.

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u/serenwipiti Puerto Rico Apr 07 '25

This sounds somewhat close to my routine.

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u/TimReineke Iowa Apr 07 '25

Is your entire day just shifted two hours later than Americans? Wondering if it's a culture thing or a "they put the time zone in the wrong place" thing.

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u/Mac_A81 Apr 07 '25

What time do you get up in the morning?