Peter
Eating pizza, cheese, tomatoes or spicy food… before going to bed can make it difficult to sleep, tossing and turning at night.
Coffee, tea or chocolate have been shown to disrupt sleep. But these 7 foods can also interfere with sleep.
Pizza
Pizza contains a lot of saturated fat and salt, which can cause physical discomfort after eating a lot, making it difficult to fall asleep. According to the American Heart Association, eating high amounts of saturated fat during the day can cause insomnia and toss and turn at night. A slice of pizza can contain up to a third of the salt an adult needs in a day and 5 g of saturated fat. You should also avoid foods high in saturated fat at night such as butter, ice cream, and fried foods (chips).
Smoothie
According to research by the University of Liverpool (UK), a serving (100 ml) of smoothie contains about 2.5 teaspoons of sugar, more than a serving of juice. Sugar increases energy spikes that keep the body awake, making you toss and turn. Refined sugar can cause rapid fluctuations in blood sugar, spike adrenaline and make it difficult to fall asleep. Before going to bed, you need to avoid drinking smoothies as well as other sweets (candy, soft drinks). Consuming too much sugar can also lead to diabetes, weight gain, high blood pressure and fatty liver disease.
If you’re hungry before bed, choose complex carbohydrates or proteins like whole-wheat bread with peanut butter or almond butter, bananas with yogurt… Almond or peanut butter are both high in protein and Unsaturated fats are good for health, whole wheat bread provides fiber and more complex carbohydrates than white bread to keep blood sugar stable during sleep. Bananas are high in potassium, magnesium, and fiber that encourage a good night’s sleep. Note, before going to bed should eat less, for example a piece of toast with 1-2 tablespoons of peanut butter or a small banana is enough.
Cheese
Hard or aged cheeses contain large amounts of the amino acid tyramine, which increases heart rate, making it difficult to sleep. If you feel hungry before bed, try some almond butter with some crackers. These foods contain magnesium which can reduce insomnia.
Tomato
Eating tomatoes too close to bedtime will make it difficult to fall asleep. This acidic fruit can irritate the lining of the stomach and raise the pH levels in the body, causing indigestion, heartburn, and acid reflux, all of which interfere with sleep. Tomato-based foods such as juices and sauces are also highly acidic, and should be avoided if you are prone to heartburn.
Spicy food
Spicy foods can cause acid reflux, especially when lying down, the mixture of stomach acid and digested food is easier to back up into the esophagus. Spicy foods should be eaten 3 hours before bedtime to avoid aggravating acid reflux that can occur when lying down. This is enough time for stomach contents to move into the small intestine, preventing nighttime problems like heartburn and insomnia. Foods containing capsaicin (the ingredient found in chili peppers) can interfere with sleep by raising body temperature.
Water
Drinking plenty of water before bed increases the likelihood of sleep disruption by increasing the likelihood of nocturia. Some natural diuretics that can also disrupt sleep are parsley, ginger, dandelion, hawthorn… If you need a prescription diuretic, take it earlier in the day.
Wine
According to the National Sleep Foundation, drinking a little alcohol before bed can help you fall asleep faster, but drinking too much will interfere with sleep quality, because alcohol relaxes throat muscles causing disruption of breathing. breathing during sleep. Drinking too much alcohol can also lead to sleep apnea and heavy snoring. Alcohol reduces the brain’s ability to wake and detect hypoxia, leading to longer and more frequent pauses in breathing.
