in

Eating Right Before Bed: What You Should Pay Attention to

No matter what you eat before bed, you will most likely not wake up slimmer or more beautiful. But you will sleep better and be able to start the day much more relaxed.

Eating before bed – you should avoid that

As soon as you eat, a lot of things happen in your body. Depending on what you eat, the organism has to work more or less intensively to process the meal in question.

  • When we sleep, our body should relax and recharge its batteries. This does not succeed if the organism is busy half the night processing the food supplied.
  • For this reason, nutritionists often recommend eating and drinking sensibly at least four hours before you go to sleep. It is best not to eat anything more than two hours before you go to bed.
  • You should stick to the four-hour rule, especially with heavy and greasy food. Fats have to be laboriously converted by the body before they can be processed further. And who does not know it, after a high-fat meal, many cannot fall asleep or only sleep very restlessly.
  • However, not only particularly hearty food often prevents a good night’s sleep. Many types of vegetables and salads are also difficult for the body to digest when eaten raw.
  • Legumes in particular occasionally lead to stomach and intestinal problems and keep us from sleeping.
  • Caffeine is supposed to wake you up and that’s why a cup of coffee in the early morning is indispensable for some people. In the evening we don’t usually want to wake up, we want to sleep. Therefore, you should avoid caffeine at least four hours before bedtime. Of course, this also applies to teas such as green tea and black tea, which also contain caffeine.
  • Energy drinks also rev up the body and make you awake and alert. Energy drinks should therefore also be avoided a few hours before bedtime.
  • The effect of excessive alcohol content on the organism and sleep is probably well known to most people.
  • Sugar, or foods containing sugar, are by no means conducive to a peaceful sleep. Especially since many sweets consist of a combination of sugar and fat.

Magical food – how to sleep well

The general rule is: Eat smaller portions in the evening so that you neither overload your stomach nor your digestive system.

  • In the evening or sometime before going to sleep, the food should be high in fiber and as low in fat as possible.
  • Towards evening you should no longer eat raw vegetables, but only boiled or steamed vegetables.
  • Do not eat products made from white flour, prefer products made from wholemeal flour, such as wholemeal pasta or wholemeal bread.
  • For drinks, soothing fruit or herbal teas, or water are recommended. The famous warm milk with honey or hot chocolate is also good and will help you fall asleep.
  • Foods that contain serotonin, the so-called happiness hormone, such as walnuts or bananas, are also good sleep aids.
Avatar photo

Written by John Myers

Professional Chef with 25 years of industry experience at the highest levels. Restaurant owner. Beverage Director with experience creating world-class nationally recognized cocktail programs. Food writer with a distinctive Chef-driven voice and point of view.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Hummus Recipe: This is How You Succeed with The Chickpea Spread

Filleting Oranges: This is How Professionals Do It