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Avoiding food before bedtime is a widely accepted sleep hygiene practice, yet few studies have assessed meal timing as a risk factor for disrupted sleep. This study examined the relationship between evening meal timing and sleep quality in young adults. A total of N = 793 participants (26% male) aged between 18 and 29 years responded to an online survey, which captured sociodemographic information, lifestyle variables, and sleep characteristics. Meal timing was defined as meals more than 3 h before or within 3 h of bedtime. The outcomes were as follows: one or more nocturnal awakenings, sleep onset latency of &gt, 30 min, and sleep duration of &le, 6 h. Logistic regression analyses showed that eating within 3 h of bedtime was positively associated with nocturnal awakening (OR = 1.61, 95% CI = 1.15&ndash, 2.27) but not long sleep onset latency (1.24, 0.89&ndash, 1.73) or short sleep duration (0.79, 0.49&ndash, 1.26). The relationship remained significant after adjusting for potential confounders of ethnicity and body mass index (OR = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.00&ndash, 2.04). Meal timing appears to be a modifiable risk factor for nocturnal awakenings and disrupted sleep. However, this is a preliminary cross-sectional study and highlights the need for additional research on the influence of the timing of food intake on sleep.