Good sleep is essential for your health, your mood, and your energy. Poor sleep can impact your weight, stress levels, and overall lifestyle. There are various factors that influence sleep quality but food plays a vital role. What you eat before bed can affect how you sleep as well as the quality of sleep, as well as your metabolism and digestion.
If you frequently find yourself tossing and turning, it could be because you ate a certain food close to bedtime. Some foods can be horrible for sleep, and some can disturb sleep and slow down digestion. Here are six foods you want to consider avoiding if you want really great sleep.
Coffee absorbs a quarter of caffeine within an given amount of time. This stimulant is blocking your body’s ability to produce a sleep hormone called melatonin to allow you to sleep. If you drink some late at night in the evening, you’re likely to toss and turn. If you want sleep anytime soon, don’t drink coffee after the afternoon.
Moderate amounts of dark chocolate is healthy… but not if you’re eating it before bed. Cacao in dark chocolate has caffeine heath implications. Caffeine and theobromine both activate your central nervous system which can increase alertness and heart rate, making you restless and delaying sleep. Savor the chocolate earlier in the day!
Spicy foods like chicken curry or paneer curry can disturb your stomach at night. These are also foods that can trigger heartburn, indigestion, and acid reflux when you are lying down for the night.
Soda and cola drinks are also called bedtime nightmares. Soft drinks normally have caffeine and lots of sugar. The carbonation also bloats and may cause discomfort. Energy bursts often are derived from sugar. Soda pop and carbonated drinks disturb sleep and comfort. Drink water or herbal tea.
Although the best part about deep fried onion ring snacks is they taste fantastic, they are not a great pre-bed snack. Fried foods are difficult to digest and also add to acidity. The onions in the rings can also contribute to acid reflux making sleep at night uncomfortable. If you are looking for a late-night snack you can try to find something lighter.
Eating ice cream as a late-night dessert is a guilty pleasure for many people but can damage your sleep quality. Ice cream has high sugar that can cause blood glucose spikes and long, restless nights. Ice cream also has fat that can also make digestion less than favorable while lying down. If you must eat ice cream make sure that it is part of an earlier part of the day.
Diet is the cornerstone of quality sleep. If you want good sleep, avoid coffee, chocolate, spicy meals, soda, fried foods, or ice cream prior to bedtime and eating light meals and snacks before bedtime can aid peaceful sleep and a more refreshed awakening in the morning.
Also Read: Healthy Foods For Men Over 40 To Stay Young