It takes 6 hours to completely digest our food. During sleep, our body’s energy needs to be concentrated on recharging our mental and physical state. Eating for 3 hours before bed can result in indigestion as well as bad sleep.
Activation of the digestive system during sleep would disturb sleep and cause fatigue the next morning.
The type of food you eat also determines your restful slumber.
Here is a list of what not to eat before bed.
Orange Juice and Citrus fruits
Due to the high acid content in citrus fruits like oranges, they may cause problems like heartburn or acid reflux during the sleep. Since these fruits also give a quick boost of energy and make you active, they should be avoided close to the sleeping hours.
Pizza, or cheese Burger, or Fatty Acidic Food
The exciting acidic flavors and gooey cheese can be very tempting, but badly damages our quality of sleep. Fats result in increased production of stomach acid, which can lead to heartburn. Laying position during sleep can also cause acid reflux, resulting in bad taste and stomachaches. Studies suggest that consuming fats before bed can also cause nightmares. Like all other unhealthy reasons, such foods can be heavy on the stomach, keeping us awake. Eating French fries late at night can also wreak havoc on you if you are looking forward to good sleep.
Alcohol:
Any alcoholic drink is not only bad for consumers, but also for their sleeping partners since alcohol induces snoring. So, rethink a late-night drink or find interesting things to do with your partner throughout the night. Quick metabolism of alcohol in our body would also disturb our sleep time and again during the night.
Coffee
The caffeine content in coffee is well known and quite popular for its stimulating action on the nervous system. In fact, we admittedly take it to keep ourselves awake. For obvious reasons, drinking it before bedtime would be a terrible idea.
Dark chocolate
High calories and caffeine are the usual contents of a chocolate bar. Sugar, calories, and caffeine are three amazing sleep killers. Consuming chocolates before bedtime can also increase your heart rate due to theobromine content, resulting in sleeplessness.
Red Bull
Again, the caffeine content in such energy drinks is extremely higher than in the previous two felons. This makes it a good enough reason to completely avoid these stimulants, as this amount of caffeine could take up to 8 hours to entirely wear off.
Mountain Dew
Along with high citrus acid, it contains caffeine, both of which are terrible for good sleep. Chemicals including Sodium Benzoate in these drinks can also stimulate acid reflux and hinder undisturbed sleep.
Spicy Foods:
Spicy food during late hours would cause difficulty in sleep. Consuming spicy food during late hours can also lead to heartburn. So, if you’re expecting a fat-rich spicy dinner tonight, that would be a perfect assassination plot for your sleep.
Chicken
Consuming the protein present in chicken can decrease the digestion rate, which is reduced by half naturally during sleep. Therefore, the body’s energy will be concentrated on digesting the heavy meal, which should better be focused on recharging the body, and washing off toxins from the brain during sleep. This can result in restlessness
Tea
While some Herbal or medicated Teas may not have any caffeine in it, the usual green and dark tea certainly have caffeine content, which can keep you up during the night if consumed before bedtime.
Sugary food:
Foods with high sugar and glucose content can kick in excessively energy very quickly, which will eventually keep you energized and give you a hard time sleeping. Avoid eating late-hour ice creams if you wish to keep the lights off during the night.
Raw vegetables:
Raw vegetables are not easily digested and will cause your stomach to work hard on processing and absorbing the nutrients instead of relaxing your body for a cozy sleep if you eat them before bed. Vegetables like tomatoes and recipes that contain it should also be avoided since it’s high in acid content
Red meat
Since red meat is rich in protein and fats, it is going to be a hard work to digest it during your sleep. The load on your stomach will keep sapping your body’s energy that should be used to provide you a good night’s sleep.
Watermelons:
Despite being a very healthy and hydrating snack, eating watermelon before bedtime is not a good idea. Because of the high-water content that you intake, you could feel the need to get up from your sleep for the bathroom during the night, leaving you restless in the morning. Studies show that waking up by breaking your sleep during the night could be equivalent to not sleeping.
