It’s been a long day of work or lounging around doing nothing and you’re beat. Now you just want to grab something to eat and head to bed. As many of you already know, the type of foods you eat can affect your body in positive and negative ways. This may come as a surprise to you, but foods you eat affects sleep as well. Even though eating that late night pizza sounded great at the time, it just means you’ll have problems sleeping later. Below are some foods that may help or hurt your much needed sleep.
Good foods to have before bed:
Cherries
Food high in melatonin helps with our sleep cycles.
Milk
Who knew your parents were right about a warm glass of milk. Sure, now you prefer a glass of wine, however it has been shown that milk does indeed help you sleep. It is believed that serotonin and tryptophan, which are both found in milk, make it easier to sleep.
Jasmine Rice
Foods that are ranked high on the glycemic index mean that they will be digested slowly and you sleep better. Studies have shown that eating these foods a few hours before bed help you fall asleep in half the time when compared to other meals.
Cereal
You eat it for breakfast, why not for dinner? One, cereal does contain milk which was mentioned earlier also it contains complex carbs which are “good.” It may not be a greasy slice of pizza but come on, can you really go wrong with cereal, plus you don’t need to be a chief to make it.
Now that you have seen some of the good choices, it also helps to be aware of the bad choices that are out there. Remember everyone’s body is different, so some of these may not affect you as much as they would affect other people
Bad foods to have before bed:
Dark Chocolate
While this is normally good for you, especially for your heart, if you have it before bed it would keep you awake due to the caffeine it contains. It can also contain other stimulants which interfere with your sleep cycle.
Energy Drinks
Granted energy drinks are supposed to give you energy and keep you awake however some people enjoy it so much that it helps to remind everyone that this is another item that contains high levels of caffeine. Many also contain high levels of sugars as well to help cover up their dish water flavor. So remember to avoid having these too late in the day because caffeine will linger in your body.
Spicy food
Studies have shown that spicy foods keep you awake at night or at the very least made maintaining a full night’s sleep very difficult. These have also been known to cause gastrointestinal distress, which would even affect whomever you may be sharing a room or bed with. So remember to keep this in moderation to help limit the amount of wind you may be breaking and pretending like it was not you.
As with most issues, if you notice you have prolonged trouble sleeping or issues with insomnia, always remember to let you doctor know. It could be a sign of a much bigger problem. Make sure to write any relevant information to help them help you. For everyone else bon appetite and have a good night!
