4 Types of Foods That Act as Sleep Thieves

Do you often toss and turn at night, unable to fall asleep or stay asleep? Do you wake up feeling groggy and unrefreshed? If so, you might want to take a closer look at your diet. What you eat and drink can have a significant impact on your sleep quality, as some foods and beverages can interfere with your natural sleep cycle and cause sleep problems.

In this article, you will learn about:

• Want a Good Night’s Sleep?
• 4 Types of Foods That Act as Sleep Thieves
  • Eating a Heavy Dinner After Work? Prepare for a Restless Night
  • Tea, Coffee, High-Fat Foods – Consuming Them Makes Sleeping Difficult
  • Sweet Potatoes, Cauliflower, Cabbage – Go Light on These for Dinner
  • A Nightcap for Better Sleep? Only Results in Shallow Sleep
• Frequently Asked Questions
  • How long before bed should I stop eating?
  • What are some foods that can cause nightmares?

Table of Contents

• Want a Good Night’s Sleep?
• 4 Types of Foods That Act as Sleep Thieves
  • Eating a Heavy Dinner After Work? Prepare for a Restless Night
  • Tea, Coffee, High-Fat Foods – Consuming Them Makes Sleeping Difficult
  • Sweet Potatoes, Cauliflower, Cabbage – Go Light on These for Dinner
  • A Nightcap for Better Sleep? Only Results in Shallow Sleep
• Frequently Asked Questions
  • How long before bed should I stop eating?
  • What are some foods that can cause nightmares?

Want a Good Night’s Sleep?

Want a good night’s sleep? Stay away from these “sleep thieves” in your diet. Beyond well-known sleep disruptors like caffeinated beverages, certain foods can also impact the quality of your sleep. Consuming foods that cause bloating or having dinners that are too oily or spicy may affect your sleep, stealing precious hours from your night.

According to a study by the National Sleep Foundation, about 65% of people report that their sleep quality is affected by their food and drink choices. Poor sleep can have negative consequences for your health, mood, and productivity. Therefore, it is important to be mindful of what you eat and drink before bedtime and how they may affect your sleep.

In this article, we will introduce four types of foods that act as sleep thieves and explain how they can interfere with your sleep.

4 Types of Foods That Act as Sleep Thieves

Here are four types of foods that you should avoid or limit before bedtime if you want to sleep well:

Eating a Heavy Dinner After Work? Prepare for a Restless Night

Insomnia is closely linked to diet. Many working individuals, after a busy day, indulge in a big meal to reward themselves. However, consuming high-fat and greasy foods, which normally take 1 to 2 hours to digest and allow the stomach to empty, can extend digestion time. This means your digestive system continues working while you sleep.

This can cause several problems for your sleep. First, eating too much can make you feel uncomfortable and bloated, which can prevent you from falling asleep easily. Second, eating too late can cause acid reflux, which is a burning sensation in the chest or throat caused by stomach acid flowing back into the esophagus. Acid reflux can worsen when you lie down, especially if you have eaten within 3 hours of bedtime. Third, eating too much can affect your sleep cycles, which are the stages of sleep that your brain and body go through during the night. Eating too much can reduce the amount of deep sleep and REM sleep, which are the most restorative and important stages of sleep.

To avoid these problems, recommend eating a light and balanced dinner at least 3 hours before bedtime. A light dinner should consist of about 25% of your daily calorie intake and include foods that are easy to digest, such as lean protein, whole grains, vegetables, and fruits. A balanced dinner should contain a variety of nutrients, such as carbohydrates, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, and fiber, to support your health and well-being.

Tea, Coffee, High-Fat Foods – Consuming Them Makes Sleeping Difficult

Caffeinated beverages like coffee and tea, which contain caffeine, not only provide alertness but also accelerate breathing and heart rate, raising blood pressure. They can reduce melatonin secretion, and the diuretic effect may lead to frequent urination at night, affecting sleep. It is advisable for individuals with low caffeine tolerance to avoid consuming caffeinated drinks 6 to 8 hours before bedtime to prevent sleep disruption. High-fat foods such as bacon, chocolate, cheese, and hot dogs, containing tyramine, stimulate adrenaline secretion, leading to increased brain activity similar to the effects of caffeine, thus disrupting sleep.

Caffeine and tyramine are both examples of stimulants, which are substances that increase the activity of the nervous system and make you feel more awake and alert. Stimulants can interfere with your sleep by delaying the onset of sleep, reducing the quality of sleep, and causing more awakenings during the night. Stimulants can also affect your circadian rhythm, which is your internal clock that regulates your sleep-wake cycle. Stimulants can shift your circadian rhythm forward, making it harder for you to fall asleep at your desired time and wake up in the morning.

To avoid these effects, you should limit your intake of stimulants, especially in the afternoon and evening. Instead of coffee or tea, you can drink herbal teas, such as chamomile, lavender, or lemon balm, which have calming and soothing properties. Instead of high-fat foods, you can eat foods that contain tryptophan, such as turkey, eggs, cheese, or nuts, which can help your body produce melatonin, the hormone that regulates your sleep.

Sweet Potatoes, Cauliflower, Cabbage – Go Light on These for Dinner

Some people experience bloating after meals. Hsu Chiou-Ping suggests that gas-producing foods, including sweet potatoes, legumes, cauliflower, cabbage, and other cruciferous vegetables, remain undigested in the small intestine until bacteria break them down in the large intestine. This process generates a considerable amount of gas, causing discomfort that makes falling asleep difficult or results in shallow and easily interrupted sleep.

Bloating is a feeling of fullness or swelling in the abdomen that can cause pain, discomfort, or pressure. Bloating can affect your sleep by making it harder for you to breathe, relax, or find a comfortable sleeping position. Bloating can also cause flatulence, which is the passing of gas from the digestive system. Flatulence can be embarrassing, noisy, or smelly, which can affect your self-esteem, mood, or relationship with your partner.

To prevent bloating, you should avoid or reduce your intake of gas-producing foods, especially in the evening. You should also chew your food well, eat slowly, and avoid drinking carbonated beverages, chewing gum, or smoking, which can introduce more air into your digestive system. You can also take probiotics, which are beneficial bacteria that can help balance your gut flora and improve your digestion. Probiotics can be found in foods like yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, or kimchi, or in supplements.

A Nightcap for Better Sleep? Only Results in Shallow Sleep

Many believe that alcohol helps with sleep, and some turn to a nightcap when struggling to fall asleep. However, alcohol can actually impair your sleep in several ways. Alcohol can disrupt your sleep architecture, which is the structure and pattern of your sleep stages. Alcohol can reduce the amount and quality of deep sleep and REM sleep, which are essential for physical and mental recovery. Alcohol can also cause snoring, sleep apnea, or nightmares, which can affect your breathing, oxygen levels, or dreams. Alcohol can also increase your need to urinate, which can interrupt your sleep and cause dehydration.

Alcohol is a sedative, which means it can make you feel sleepy and relaxed. However, this effect is only temporary and wears off as your body metabolizes the alcohol. As the alcohol level in your blood drops, you may experience a rebound effect, which means you may feel more alert and restless. This can make it harder for you to stay asleep or fall back asleep if you wake up during the night. This can lead to a poor and fragmented sleep, which can affect your mood, memory, concentration, and performance the next day.

To avoid these consequences, you should limit your alcohol intake, especially before bedtime. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that you avoid drinking alcohol within 3 hours of bedtime and limit yourself to one or two drinks per day. You should also drink plenty of water to stay hydrated and avoid dehydration-related headaches or fatigue. You can also try other ways to relax and unwind before bed, such as reading, listening to music, meditating, or doing some gentle stretches.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long before bed should I stop eating?

The optimal time to stop eating before bed depends on several factors, such as your metabolism, your sleep schedule, and the type of food you eat. However, a general rule of thumb is to avoid eating anything heavy or spicy within three hours of bedtime. This can help prevent indigestion, acid reflux, and heartburn, which can interfere with your sleep quality and duration. If you feel hungry before bed, you can have a light snack that contains some protein and complex carbohydrates, such as a banana with peanut butter, yogurt with granola, or cheese with crackers. These foods can help stabilize your blood sugar levels and promote the production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates your sleep cycle. Avoid foods that are high in sugar, caffeine, or alcohol, as they can act as sleep thieves and disrupt your sleep patterns.

What are some foods that can cause nightmares?

There is no conclusive evidence that any specific food can cause nightmares, but some studies have suggested that certain foods may influence your dreams in different ways. For example, a study by the University of Montreal found that participants who ate cheese before bed reported more vivid and bizarre dreams than those who did not. Another study by the University of Oxford found that participants who ate spicy foods before bed experienced more negative and disturbing dreams than those who ate bland foods. These findings may be explained by the fact that cheese and spicy foods can affect your body temperature, digestion, and brain activity, which may in turn affect your dream content and emotions. However, these effects may vary depending on the individual, the type and amount of food, and other factors. Therefore, it is not advisable to avoid or consume certain foods based on their potential impact on your dreams, unless you notice a consistent and significant correlation between them.

Reference

• National Sleep Foundation. (2020). How Long Should You Wait Between Eating and Going to Bed?
• Mayo Clinic. (2018). GERD and sleep: Tips for a better night’s rest.
• Healthline. (2019). The 9 Best Foods to Eat Before Bed.
• Harvard Health Publishing. (2015). Foods that fight insomnia.
• Cleveland Clinic. (2019). How to Avoid the 4 Worst Foods for Sleep.

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