The Surprising Connection Between Diet and Insomnia: Foods that Impact Your Sleep

Are you experiencing sleep problems lately? If yes, then this article is for you. Sleep and food share a solid connection which affects your sleep quality and overall health. If you don’t?manage your food choices on time, it might lead to severe sleeping disorders like insomnia or obstructive sleep apnea. So, learn about?the connection between food and sleep?and what foods and drinks you should avoid to improve?your sleep?in this article. ?You can contact us by visiting our clinic or visiting our website at https://doralhw.org/.

The connection between food and sleep

Your diet and food choices can affect the quality and duration of sleep either directly or indirectly. Certain foods or components in foods can disrupt your circadian rhythm (our natural body clock that ensures our bodily functions run on schedule such as falling asleep at night, waking up in the morning, feeling hungry to get energy, and metabolizing the food we eat). Besides that, it can also alter your sleep patterns. If this continues, you may develop insomnia. Additionally, your diet also impacts your gut bacteria (which helps to digest and absorb food) significantly, which can further affect other metabolic processes, including sleep. In the long term, it may cause chronic inflammation, which is linked with insomnia.

A 2011 study by the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that eating less fiber, and more saturated fat along with sugar throughout the day can be linked with lighter, less restorative sleep, and more awakenings throughout the night. On the other hand, foods that are rich in fiber or unsaturated fats, such as nuts, avocados, fish, etc., can help restore your sleep.

That’s?why what you eat plays a crucial role in your sleep.

Foods and drinks to avoid

Here are some common foods and drinks you should avoid before bedtime for good sleep:

1. Alcohol:

While you may think that a drink or two at night can make you fall asleep, it does the opposite. It’s?true drinking alcohol may make you relax for a short period, but it can’t?make you fall asleep. Alcohol is used as a sleep aid, which causes sleep disturbances that keep you awake at night. While it can make you fall asleep faster, it significantly disrupts the sleep cycle and decreases the ability of restorative REM sleep because your blood alcohol levels decline.

A 2020 study on 11,905 people found that high alcohol consumption can be significantly associated with poor sleep and shorter sleep duration. A 2019 study on 25 people found that consuming a large amount of alcohol over time can reduce your total sleep time and sleep quality. Alcohol is strongly linked with insomnia, so drinking alcohol regularly before bed to feel relaxed or fall asleep may work at first but later affects your overall sleep quality negatively and keeps you awake later in the night.

2. Caffeinated foods and beverages:

Many products like coffee, green tea, or Diet Coke contain caffeine which can disrupt your sleep cycle by blocking adenosine, a natural substance in your body that makes you sleepy. This makes you feel more alert and energized by blocking the production of chemicals in the brain that make you fall asleep and increase adrenaline. This alertness and energy boost can last for 6 hours after you consume it, so it can be good in the morning but not in the evening or night.

Research found that drinking coffee a few hours before bedtime can affect sleep. A small 2013 study on 12 people each who had 400 mg of caffeine at bedtime, 3, and 6 hours before bed, got disrupted sleep. Interestingly, people who consumed 400 mg?of caffeine 6 hours before bed took more than double the time to fall asleep and slept less by 1 hour compared to people with a placebo.

The lack of sleep due to caffeine consumption may cause you to consume more caffeine the next day to contract the feelings of tiredness, which then affects the next night’s sleep. That’s?the reason experts recommend limiting your caffeine intake, especially in the afternoon and evening hours. Here are some common foods that contain caffeine:

• Chocolate
• Coffee, including decaf, in lower amounts than regular.
• Foods that contain kola nuts as an ingredient.
• Green and black teas.
• Guarana
• Yerba mate
• Energy drinks
• Tiramisu

3. Spicy foods:?

Eating spicy foods close to bedtime can cause indigestion and worsen the symptoms of heartburn and acid reflux. So, when you try to lie down to sleep, these spicy food-related symptoms get worse because the acid may travel into the esophagus and cause irritation, which keeps you awake at night and leads to sleep disturbances. Additionally, when you sleep your body temperature goes down to facilitate sleep, but hot peppers can boost your body’s temperature. This also makes it harder for you to fall asleep. That’s?why you should remove spicy foods from your dinner to promote healthy sleep.

4. Sugary foods:

Eating sweets and desserts high in added sugars and saturated fats is linked with health problems such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. It is also linked with poor sleep quality and sleep disturbances like insomnia. It first spikes your blood sugar levels and then crashes them causing havoc on sleep patterns. A study of diets with high saturated fat and sugar intake found that it causes lighter, less restorative sleep with more arousal. That’s?why you should avoid a sweet treat at night, especially before bedtime.

5. Processed foods:

Fast foods and other highly processed foods often contain elevated levels of sodium, saturated fats, and added sugars. All these foods have a strong link to poor sleep quality and short sleep duration. A 2018 study shows data of 118,462 adolescents aged 12 to 18 who had shorter sleep duration and poor sleep quality due to high intake of fast food, instant noodles, and sweets. A 2020 study found that poor sleep quality in Brazilian adolescents was due to high intake of ultra-processed foods. These food ingredients are also linked with sleep disturbances and also lead to health problems like weight gain.?So, instead of eating them, replace them with fresh home-cooked meals that are rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats that improve your sleep quality and overall health.

Other ways to improve sleep quality

Here are some other ways that help you improve your sleep quality:

• Set a fixed sleep or wake-up time: Always try to sleep or wake up at the same time even on holidays. Make sure you have at least 7 to 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep daily.
• Create a calming bedtime routine:?An hour before bedtime, put away your electronics and keep the lights low. Try to take a warm bath, read a book, meditate, or listen to relaxing music to calm yourself down for sleep.
• Create a sleeping environment: Make sure you turn off your room lights, use a fan or AC to cool the room, and ensure mattresses and pillows are in place to make you feel comfortable when you lie down to sleep.
• Stay physically active:?Exercise daily in the morning or afternoon allowing your body to get tired to fall asleep faster. However, if you exercise too close to bedtime it makes it difficult to fall asleep. So be mindful of when to exercise.
• Ask your doctor about herbs or medication: If you have a problem falling asleep with diet and lifestyle changes, you can also ask a doctor for herbal remedies or medications that might be appropriate for you.

Diet and sleep are closely connected?because what you eat affects your sleep quality and sleep duration either by improving or worsening it. The more your sleep gets affected, the more the risk of health problems like weight gain, stress, low energy, or sleeping problems like insomnia will develop. That’s?why you should be mindful of what you eat and remove the above-mentioned foods and drinks from your diet to improve your sleep quality. You can also try other lifestyle changes to improve your sleep quality, if it doesn’t?get better, then seek professional help.

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If you need help with sleep issues, visit our behavioral health doctor in the Brooklyn clinic to get professional medical help. Call us to book your appointment now!

You can schedule an appointment with Doral Health and Wellness doctors in Brooklyn. If you are looking for treatments, you can also talk to our specialists and inquire with them. To schedule an appointment, please visit us at 1797 Pitkin Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11212?or call 1-347-384-5690.