Your Nutrition play a big role in affecting your sleep quality. There are studies which have shown that making the right food choices can improve your sleep significantly.
For a good night sleep, the foods you avoid can be just as important as the foods you consume.
Many people are aware that certain foods can disrupt their sleep. But they might not know which specific foods to avoid as part of their evening routine. Consuming the wrong types of food before bed can lead to poor sleep quality or difficulty falling asleep. Here’s your comprehensive guide to the worst foods for sleep and the good alternatives, helping you make smarter choices for your nighttime snacks.
In this article, we will cover:
- How Foods can affect your sleep.
- 12 Foods to avoid before sleep for better rest.
- General categories to avoid for a good sleep.
How Food Affects Sleep
Just as some foods can enhance sleep quality by promoting the production of sleep-inducing hormones and relaxing muscles, others can do just the opposite. Here are a few ways how the wrong food choices can negatively impact your sleep:
- Digestive Disruption: Heavy or rich foods can be hard to digest, leading to discomfort that keeps you awake.
- Hormonal Interference: Foods that mess with your body’s hormonal balance can disrupt your natural sleep cycle.
- Neurological Stimulation: Certain foods and drinks stimulate the brain rather than calming it, making it harder to settle down for the night.
12 Foods to Avoid Before Bed for Better Rest
Here’s a rundown of the top bad foods for sleep you should avoid before heading to sleep:
1. Heavy Red Meats
- Why to Avoid: Consuming heavy red meats, which are rich in fats and proteins, can lead to prolonged digestion times. This extended digestive process requires energy and can keep your body active. This is hindering your ability to enter the deeper, restorative phases of sleep which can lead to restlessness and a decrease in overall sleep quality.
- Alternative: Opt for a light protein like turkey or chicken earlier in the evening if you need a protein source.
2. Spicy Foods
- Why to Avoid: Spicy foods are notorious for causing heartburn and indigestion, especially when consumed close to bedtime. The capsaicin in spicy foods can irritate the stomach lining and increase stomach acid. This has the potential to cause discomfort and can keep you awake or disrupt your sleep by causing you to wake up during the night.
- Alternative: Choose mild flavors for your evening meal to avoid digestive discomfort.
3. Pizza
- Why to Avoid: The combination of fatty cheese and acidic tomato sauce in pizza can lead to severe heartburn or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms. These symptoms are exacerbated when lying down. This causing of discomfort can interrupt sleep and prevent the body from entering deeper sleep stages.
- Alternative: A slice of whole grain toast with avocado provides a lighter, more sleep-friendly choice.
4. Chocolate
- Why to Avoid: Chocolate contains varying levels of caffeine and theobromine, both of which are stimulants that can increase heart rate and lead to sleep disturbances. Eating chocolate before bed can delay the onset of sleep and reduce the overall quality of rest.
- Alternative: Opt for a few pieces of magnesium-rich dark chocolate earlier in the day to satisfy your cravings without affecting your sleep.
5. Cheeseburger and Fries
- Why to Avoid: This meal is high in fats and carbohydrates, which can lead to bloating and discomfort. The body’s effort to digest such a heavy meal can cause disruptions in sleep by preventing the body from settling into the deep, restorative stages of the sleep cycle.
- Alternative: A salad with lean protein can fill you up without overstressing your stomach.
6. Ice Cream
- Why to Avoid: Ice cream is high in sugar and fat, which can spike your blood sugar levels and lead to energy boosts at the wrong time. This sugar crash can then cause you to wake up during the night and can interfere with the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle.
- Alternative: A small serving of Greek yogurt with fruit offers a healthier, sleep-promoting snack.
7. Cured Meats and Cheeses
- Why to Avoid: These foods contain tyramine, an amino acid that triggers the release of norepinephrine, a brain stimulant that can make you feel alert and delay sleep onset. Consuming these before bed can disrupt your natural sleep cycle, making it difficult to fall asleep.
- Alternative: If you crave a savory snack, try a small portion of nuts or a boiled egg.
8. Fried Chicken
- Why to Avoid: The high fat content in fried foods can increase the acid production in your stomach, leading to acid reflux or heartburn. This discomfort can significantly disrupt sleep by causing pain and discomfort, which can keep you awake or awaken you during the night.
- Alternative: Baked chicken or fish provides a less oily and more stomach-friendly option.
9. Coffee and Energy Drinks
- Why to Avoid: Caffeine is a powerful stimulant that can remain in your bloodstream for several hours and significantly impair your ability to fall asleep. It can also interrupt your circadian rhythm by reducing the production of melatonin, the hormone that signals your body it’s time to sleep.
- Alternative: Herbal teas like chamomile or peppermint are soothing and contain no caffeine.
10. Soda
- Why to Avoid: The caffeine and high sugar content in many sodas can lead to spikes in energy levels and blood sugar, which can disrupt your sleep cycle by making it difficult to fall asleep and causing you to wake up throughout the night.
- Alternative: Sparkling water with a splash of lemon or lime is a refreshing, non-disruptive choice.
11. Garlic and Onions
- Why to Avoid: These ingredients can cause bloating, gas, and discomfort, particularly if you have a sensitive stomach. These digestive issues can lead to discomfort that might keep you awake or disrupt your sleep with the need to get up during the night.
- Alternative: For flavor without the side effects, use herbs like basil or oregano.
12. Alcohol
- Why to Avoid: Although alcohol may initially help you fall asleep, it profoundly impacts the quality of your sleep. It reduces REM sleep, which is considered the most restorative phase, leading to a night of fragmented and non-restorative sleep. This often results in waking up feeling unrefreshed.
- Alternative: A warm glass of milk can provide a calming effect without the negative impact on sleep cycles.
General Categories of Foods to Avoid at Night
- High Fat Foods: Can cause heartburn and indigestion. Mainly the foods high in saturated fats (bad fats).
- Highly Acidic Foods: Can irritate the stomach and esophagus.
- High-Sugar Foods: May lead to energy spikes and subsequent crashes. Mainly the foods with high amount of sugar added. Food with natural sugar like fruits can even be beneficial for your sleep.
- Tyramine-Rich Foods: These should be avoided as they can increase the release of norepinephrine, a brain stimulant that can make you feel more alert and delay sleep onset. Foods high in tyramine include aged cheeses, processed meats, and fermented foods.
- Timing: If you can avoid eating anything the last 2-3 hours before bed. If you can’t cut out the evening snack, make a smart choice with the foods you eat. Here is our article with the best foods to eat close to bedtime.
Summary
Of course, you don’t have to cut out all those foods immediately, you can still eat them and achieve great sleep quality. You just need to be mindful about when to consume them and the amount you consume.
So here are again the foods which are most likely to disrupt your sleep.
- Heavy Red Meats
- Spicy Foods
- Pizza
- Chocolate
- Cheeseburger and Fries
- Ice Cream
- Cured Meats and Cheeses
- Fried Chicken
- Coffee and Energy Drinks
- Soda
- Garlic and Onions
- Alcohol
