Almost every person eats before going to bed at some point. Even though eating a healthy balanced diet can help your body relax and sleep well overeating or eating a certain type of foods before sleeping can cause many health problems. More information about the effects of eating before sleeping and when you should eat may help you improve your habits. To avoid eating before sleeping, make sure you eat a balanced meal and some snacks during the day. If you are not sure what you should eat before sleeping, you can consult your doctor. Here are some reasons why you should be sleeping before eating.
Why you should be sleeping before eating
1.Reduces heartburn
Heartburn occurs when acidic contents in the stomach rise back to the throat after eating. This causes a burning sensation in the chest. Sleeping after eating can prompt these signs or make them worse. To evade such symptoms, it is important to be sleeping before eating highly spicy foods especially late in the day. Eating highly acidic foods or overeating foods such as fried foods, orange juice, and tomato sauce can lead to heartburn.
- Helps to lose weight
Do you know that if you consume calories hours before going to bed can cause more weight gain than calories you consume at any other time. In fact, foods eaten before sleeping are not healthy compared to foods eaten during the day. For example, if you crave for snack foods like cookies, chips, and candies, you are likely to overeat.
3.Reduce insomnia
Insomnia is the inability to fall asleep. It is one of the most sleep common problems according to numerous studies. And drinking or eating too much before going to sleep can lead to insomnia (reed more about: The Link Between Depression & Insomnia And Ways To Treat Them). Drinking alcohol and caffeine, especially during bedtime can make this problem worse. However, you should not go to bed hungry as it can trigger some sleep problems
- Reduces asthma problems
If you are suffering from asthma, eating before bed can make it worse. People with asthma who normally eat before going to bed, normally have increased symptoms of wheezing, coughing, and suffocation than people with asthma who sleep before eating. This means that bedtime eating and drinking behaviors may have serious or even life-threatening consequences for people with asthma.
What to avoid eating before sleeping
If you are love eating before going to bed, you now know it is beneficial to be falling asleep before eating. You should also know what you can eat before sleeping. And if you are craving for something to eat at night, you better took for something to keep your mind busy. Eating some food before bed may not be so harmful. However, there are certain types of foods you should avoid before going to sleep. Below a various type of foods, you should avoid at night
Red meat
Red meat might look very delicious, but it is the last thing you should think of before going to bed. This is because the red meat will make your body work over time making it hard to get the best sleep you may need after a very busy day.
Vegetables
Vegetables are very nutritious; hence, you may think that they are the best foods you should eat right before sleeping if you want to live healthily. But you very wrong. Vegetables have a large amount of fiber, which tends to be very slow through the digestive system. This means it is another snack to avoid before bed. Otherwise, you will stay awake longer than you can imagine.
Snacks and chips
One advantage of eating snacks and chips is how suitable they are. You can easily take a packet; eat the whole of it within a very short time. But the big problem is that processed foods have a high dosage of foods mono-sodium, which brings food related problems that you definitely want to avoid.
Pasta
Pasta is a type of food that is good to eat if you are feeling hungry because just a little of it can go a long way. But the main problem with eating pasta before going sleep is that it can lead to weight gain because it is a fatty food. Those carbohydrates found in pasta turn to fat very fast. Hence, you are observing your weight, pasta in one food you should avoid at night.
Ice cream
Ice cream is another choice of snack that might look good and tempting to eat at night, but in reality, eating ice cream at night is very bad idea. Ice cream is a good source of sugar and fat. Therefore you should avoid it completely especially before you go to bed. Eating ice cream at night will lead to weight gain.
Chili
Another type of food to avoid before bed is chili because it is filled with carbohydrates and also high in calories. Not only will you have issues with your sleep if you take a bowl at night, but also you will also have weight related problems at the same time.
Chocolate
Do you know that chocolate is actually a source of caffeine? Many people do not know. Caffeine is something you need to avoid if you want to enjoy your sleep. If you did not want to have a cup of coffee before going to bed, then you should avoid chocolate for the same reason.
Alcohol
Having a bottle of beer before going to bed may seem like a good idea, but actually, you will be increasing your sleeping problems. Even though some people believe alcohol is good after a long busy day, it will not provide the quality of sleep you need to function well the next day.
Pizza
If you are thinking of having a slice of pizza before going to bed, you better save it for the next day. The greasy, fatty toppings that are normally associated with pizza, will not only help add weight but will also cause heart burn and many other related problems right before you to sleep.
Cereals
Having a bowl of cereal is a great way to start your morning. The problem of having cereal before bed is that it contains sugar, and many carbohydrates. This means your body will not rest to have some sleep.