If you love certain foods, you may want to ensure you time it right.
That goes for everything from energy drinks and caffeine to some of your favorites. Sometimes, it’s not necessarily even what you eat, but the time of day you eat that matters most. That’s because eating or drinking certain foods before you head to bed could give you a case of insomnia. Some of the foods are no-brainers. For instance, most of us know you probably don’t want to down an energy drink in the evening. These types of drinks are mostly full of sugar and caffeine. They’re designed to boost your energy; not help you go to sleep.
That’s true of caffeinated beverages such as tea and coffee, too.
When you overdo it on caffeine, it can block your brain’s receptors for the chemical that helps you sleep. Instead, caffeine makes you more alert. That’s good if you need to be awake for the next several hours, but not so good if you want to get some rest. Saturated fats can also affect your sleep cycle by reducing your quality of sleep and possibly even giving you insomnia. One study found too much high saturated fat even during the day reduced a person’s sleep quality and affected their sleep at night.
Unfortunately for spicy food lovers, eating spicy food too close to bedtime could also lead to insomnia.
Sometimes, spicy food means heartburn, indigestion, and constipation, which could disturb your sleep pattern. Luckily, most of us don’t have to give up spicy food altogether. While eating something from the hot pepper scale may not be the best decision for a midnight snack, you can always snack on hot peppers in the morning, afternoon, or a bit earlier in the evening if you’re having trouble getting a good night’s rest.