Table of Contents Show
We know that knowledge about eating and sleeping habits is necessary. But do you know your eating habits affect your sleeping habits? A question that often lingers in our thoughts is, how long should you wait to sleep after eating?
After a long-long day, what do we desire? We crave a hearty meal and a good night’s sleep. But, is this craving healthy?
Did you know that dinner affects your night’s sleep in numerous ways? Have you ever experienced your stomach composing weird sonances while you are sleeping? Do you feel a burn in your esophagus or stomach when you go to bed?
Well, this is the opportunity to give up all your misconceptions about eating before sleep. We will tackle all of them, starting from your night snacks to sleeping positions.
1. Can You Eat Just Before Sleeping
There are loads that we need to keep in remembrance when it’s time for bed. You need to think it over before you get up for a midnight snack or a bloated supper just before bed.
According to some specialists, feeding right before sleeping has its own advantages. But from the other’s viewpoint, we should not sleep immediately after a meal. Here we must know how long should you wait to sleep after eating.
We do not intend to ask you to fast before bed. You should watch what you eat and how much you consume. Let us take a glance at why should or why should not eat before sleeping.
2. Why should we eat
Some facts recommend that having a late-night snack can help you to lose weight. Before you guys think that you can eat anything, stop the string of your thoughts.
When you had a light dinner, it’s understandable that you get hungry at midnight. Then you can not sleep with a growling belly, right? Here you go, straight to the snacks.
Now, let us get this straight, is eating late-night snacks allowed? Well, you can have something to munch on before you go to bed again, but there is a condition for it to be something HEALTHY.
You can reach for an apple or avocado instead of your routine bag of chips. (Midnight snackers, be attentive!)
2.1. Weight Loss
When you are concentrating on weight loss, small snacks are an excellent rescue for you. This way, you can dodge large meals and have small meals instead.
You just need to pay attention to the caloric intake and have high protein content in them. Protein-rich food helps you lose weight when you are sleeping. Additionally, it will help you accomplish your daily nutrient requirements.
2.2. Good Sleep
We have heard that a full stomach is the key to sound sleep. Still, it does not mean anything and gets bloated. You need to keep a restraint on what you eat.
If you want to have a good night’s sleep, then make your tummy satisfied but with NUTRITIOUS food.
3. Why should we not eat
You will have a lot of reasons for not eating right before bed after reading this.
3.1. Stomach issues
If you eat late at night or have some bulky snacks, then you are on the portal of stomach issues. Some people have indigestion while some experience heartburn when they sleep just after dinner.
3.2. Weight Gain
When we sleep, our calories burn at a languid pace. All your yummy yet heavy snacks have lots of calories. Knowing how long should you wait to sleep after eating is important now.
When you just have anything at nighttime and continue straight to bed, your body does not get a chance to burn the calories or even digest the food properly, which leads to weight gain.
You will continue wondering, how are you gaining weight, when the reason is in front of your eyes.
4. How Long Should You Wait To Sleep After Eating
There are some additional questions before we move to, how long should you wait to sleep after eating?
The first thought which hits our brain after our tummy is full is, hitting the sack. But we should consider our digestive system before we do so.
Do you know our positions affect the digestive system? The upright position is the most suitable for digestion, and this is why you should not sleep immediately after dinner.
Laying down or sleeping just after a meal increases the probability of reflux disease. It is suggested to sleep after at least two hours after you eat. This provides sufficient time for the food we eat to get down in our small intestines.
If you are affectionate to midnight snacks, then try to keep unhealthy snacks on a halt and switch to healthy ones. Furthermore, try to have them an hour before bed.
Now again, it is not set in stone that there should be a two-hour gap separating eating and sleeping. However, you can attempt to manage the time as much as you can.
As an alternative, you can watch over everything you eat. For example, if you are having a late dinner, try to maintain it light and nutritious instead of bulky and caloric.
In either situation, make sure that you aren’t sleeping with a half-empty or fully bloated stomach. You will wake up before morning because of being hungry, which is not something you would entertain. For instance, you won’t feel hungry in the morning and skip one of the most important meals of the day, breakfast if you have a bloated supper.
4. What Can I Eat Before Bed
When you know how long should you wait to sleep after eating, let us get some suggestions. You can eat some fruits or nuts before you go to bed. They are readily digestible and yummy alternatives for those who like snacking after dinner. Here is the list of things you can have along with their advantages.
4.1. Fruits
There are numerous fruits that promote good sleep and supplement your nutrients. Bananas are one of the best fruits you can have before bed. They contain sleep precursors like magnesium, potassium, and tryptophan.
A reservoir of antioxidants and Vitamins like C and E, Kiwi fruit is also rich in serotonin. This suggests Kiwi promotes good sleep, and consuming it an hour before bed will help you fall asleep faster.
Cherries have melatonin, a natural sleep-inducing hormone. It makes Cherry a favorable thing to have before bed. All these fruits and berries are helpful to insomniacs.
4.2. Green Leaves
Green leaves are deposits of prebiotics, probiotics, and fibrous contents. Spinach must be one of the must-eat out of your everyday meals. If we consider folate, tryptophan, magnesium, Vitamin C, and Vitamin B6 content in Spinach, there is no way to overlook it.
Yet another leafy addition to your meat dishes must be Tarragon. Tarragon is a French herb extensively used in garnishing. You can also prepare its soup as a side dish for your dinner.
Kale is similar to Spinach and helps to have a good and sound sleep. As Kale is rich in Calcium, it produces melatonin which is a sleep-promoting hormone.
4.3. Tea
People, read up before you place a pot of milk on the stove for tea. There are some particular kinds of teas that you can have before bed. I am addressing HERBAL teas here.
The first introduced here is Hop. Hop tea benefits us to overcome and reduce distress. This tea strengthens the activity of GABA neurotransmitters.
Yet another amazing tea, Valerian Tea will help you say goodbye to sleeplessness. For centuries, Valerian is used as a sedative, a moderate one though.
The next one is Passionflower Tea. Its flavoring contains a pigment called chrysin. Chrysin helps to soothe the nerves and makes the tea a mild sedative.
My next recommendation is a tangy-flavored tea. The Lemon Balm tea will be an effective solution to all your sleeping ailments.
4.4. Cereals and Nuts
If you prefer having a light dinner with a bowl of cereal, then switch to skim milk from your general fat milk. Skim Milk is a lot easier to digest and thus lowers the risk of indigestion. But how long should you wait to sleep after eating this? You should try to have this at least three hours before you hit your comfy cushion.
Among all the nuts, Almonds are the best source of calcium. Your brain induced tryptophan when calcium assists in the conversion of amino acids into it. Now, you are well informed of what tryptophan performs, and it is a sleep-stimulating hormone.
4.5. Dinner Suggestions
The light and easily digestible Chicken Noodle Soup will be the most suitable food before bed. You need to remember how long should you wait to sleep after eating.
A bowl of white rice will be an excellent side dish for your meal. Make sure that you DO NOT help yourself to more than ONE bowl. Else you will gain weight.
Meat supplements such as Turkey help to sleep soundly. Why do you think it is so? They contain tryptophan that prompts you to get a sound sleep.
If you prefer to have seafood, then start to tend toward fatty fish. You can have sardine, salmon, or herring and experience falling asleep faster than you ever did.
5. What You Should Avoid Before Bed
So, midnight snack fanatic, note everything that has been mentioned here and DO NOT eat them. The names mentioned below incorporate some of our favorites and comfort foods. It does matter to consider how long should you wait to sleep after eating them. Let us get started.
5.2. Drinks and Beverages
Those who are fond of late-night parties MUST avoid having wine or beer late in the nighttime. These drinks will surely make you fall asleep by loosening your nerves, but you will be waking up every few hours to use the restroom.
Beverages like Coffee promotes alertness, and we commonly drink them when we work up till late at night. The impression of caffeine lasts up to 12 hours. So, how long should you wait to sleep after eating (here drinking) coffee? Most probably you will be wide awake for at least eight hours following a cup of coffee, so hit the sack after that much time.
5.3. Ice creams and Chocolates
Your all-time favorite chocolates or that spoonful of ice cream that you intake before crawling under your mattresses won’t do any good to your sleep.
As for the chocolates, they contain caffeine, which again promotes the mind’s alertness. At the same time, ice-creams contain a lot of sugar, increasing the insulin level in our system. This hike in insulin makes it harder to fall unconscious or keep ourselves asleep.
5.4. Milk Product
Just like we have good sleep milk commodities, there are BAD for sleep milk products. The prominent one in this category is Cheese. You should avoid the consumption of cheese before bed at any cost.
That mouth-watering aged cheese comprises tyramine which makes you feel apprehensive. This means it keeps us away from having a beautiful sleep.
5.5. Junk Food
We all love having our favorite snacks, and we can not resist them at any time. Anyway, they cause severe harm to our bodies and positively influence our peaceful sleep.
Your beloved burger of yours contains plenty of fat and can produce indigestion. At the same time, the pizza we eat contains cheese and tomatoes. So, there you go, can’t eat them before you snooze.
In a nutshell, we now understand how long should you wait to sleep after eating. Besides, you learned some suggestions about what to eat and what not to eat.
The question here, how long should you wait to sleep after eating, does stand when you overeat. Try to withdraw from overeating but if you become bloated try to watch the clock before you move to the bed.
If you find this composition worth reading, then take a look at this and check your gut’s health. In the meantime, stay healthy and stay tuned to us.
6. Conclusion
It’s generally recommended to wait at least two to three hours after eating a meal before going to bed. This allows for proper digestion and reduces the risk of discomfort, indigestion, or acid reflux during sleep.
When you lie down immediately after eating, gravity cannot help in keeping the stomach contents down, which can lead to digestive issues. It’s particularly important to avoid heavy, fatty, or spicy meals close to bedtime, as these can exacerbate symptoms.
However, individual digestion times can vary, and some people may require more or less time before feeling comfortable enough to sleep. If you’re prone to acid reflux or have a medical condition that affects digestion, it’s advisable to consult with a healthcare professional for personalized guidance.
FAQ
1. What happens if I sleep immediately after eating?
A: Sleeping immediately after eating can interfere with the digestion process and may cause discomfort such as heartburn, indigestion, or acid reflux. It can also disrupt your sleep and make you feel more sluggish and fatigued upon waking up.
2. Is it bad to eat right before bed?
A: Eating right before bed can have negative effects on your digestion and sleep. It can lead to indigestion, acid reflux, or disturbed sleep patterns. Additionally, consuming a large meal close to bedtime may contribute to weight gain over time. It’s generally best to have your last meal or snack at least 2 to 3 hours before going to be
3. Does the timing of meals affect sleep quality?
A: Yes, the timing of your meals can impact sleep quality. Eating a large, heavy meal too close to bedtime can cause discomfort, and indigestion, and potentially disrupt your sleep. On the other hand, going to bed hungry can also make it difficult to fall asleep or stay asleep. It’s best to find a balance by having a light, well-balanced meal or snack a few hours before bed to support optimal sleep quality.
Read more
Last Updated on by Anudeep
Author
