Getting enough quality sleep every night is essential to being and feeling good. But many of us tend to unwittingly sabotage it with the foods we choose.
So, before you grab your evening snack or grab your afternoon coffee, it’s time to reconsider how your diet may be affecting your sleep cycle.
Foods That Are Ruining Your Sleep
Here are some of the most common foods that may be secretly disrupting your sleep, and how you can make smarter choices that support better rest:
1. Anything with caffeine
Caffeine is an obvious sleep disruptor, but it’s not just found in coffee. Anything with caffeine can act as a stimulant, sabotaging your sleep.
According to a meta-analysis published in Sleep Medicine Reviews, caffeine consumption can reduce total sleep time by 45 minutes and reduce sleep quality by 7% (“The effect of caffeine on subsequent sleep: A systematic review and meta-analysis“). Additionally, caffeine was shown to extend the time to sleep by an additional nine minutes and cause an additional 12 minutes of wakefulness after initial sleep.
Since some people are more sensitive to caffeine, especially as they get older, it’s a good idea to stop consuming caffeine-containing foods at least eight hours before bedtime to ensure that your sleep quality is not affected.
2. Fatty foods
Heavy, fatty foods are known to be difficult to digest, and if we eat them before bed, then the uncomfortable feeling of indigestion can intensify. According to research, foods with a high fat content take longer to digest, which can cause bloating and discomfort when you lie down.
So, since eating a large, fatty meal close to bedtime can delay the digestion process, try to avoid it so as not to disrupt your sleep.
3. Ultra-processed foods
While we often associate processed foods with weight gain and poor health, their impact on sleep is an equally important issue. According to a meta-analysis published in Nutrition, ultra-processed foods appear to disrupt your body’s natural sleep rhythms.
4. Alcohol
While you may think it relaxes you, studies suggest that alcohol can actually disrupt your sleep. A scientific review published in Maturitas reports that alcohol can worsen sleep in women, especially those who are perimenopausal or menopausal.
