Everyone is aware that having a balanced diet is essential to having a healthy lifestyle since it reduces the chances of diseases like stroke. Type 2 diabetes and heart disease help you have a positive mood and stimulate more energy. Apart from other things, good nutrition helps us feel and look good about ourselves and a good night’s sleep does that too. Good sleep and conscious eating go about simultaneously, both of them have the ability like the other. Consuming the wrong food at the wrong time can affect the quality of your sleep which is a crucial element when it comes to maintaining your physical and mental health. Here are some ways you can learn to improve your eating habits to get a good-quality rest, in terms of food that is good for your sleep and the food you should avoid.
Understanding How Insufficient Sleep Affects Your Health
It is said that the ideal amount of sleep for adults is between seven to nine hours every night. In this time duration, your brain undergoes four stages of sleep: three stages of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and one stage of rapid eye movement (REM).
NREM Sleep – This stage is known as the quiet sleep stage where your brain works on retaining memories and knowledge as well as repairing, refreshing, and restoring your body.
REM Sleep – This stage is known as the active sleep stage where your body works on repairing cells and muscle tissue, promoting bone and muscle growth, and strengthening the immune system.
If you often find yourself waking up in the middle of the night or face issues in having a full night’s sleep, you withhold your body from going through the required stages that keep you healthy and productive. Facing poor sleep on a regular basis puts you at risk for heart disease, stroke, weight gain, high blood pressure, bad memory, and a weak immune system. Not having a balanced diet is also another factor for having a poor quality of sleep, particularly if you are consuming certain food that is close to your bedtime.
Nutrition for Good Quality Sleep
It seems that there is an obvious reason between nutrition and the quality of sleep. A nutritionist said that any biological process, including sleep, depends on having the right amount of nutrients as eating food that has high blood sugar can affect your energy which can in turn prevent you from sleeping. Some other nutrients affect your neurotransmitters which makes it easier to relax and puts your brain to sleep.
Having said that food affects sleep, the amount of a full night’s sleep can also affect your eating habits. Poor quality sleep negatively affects your hormone imbalance which affects your hunger and people who sleep less eats more.
Do’s and Don’ts about Eating before Going to Bed
Have a Balanced Dinner – What makes up a balanced dinner are protein sources, high-fiber carbohydrate sources, and vegetables.
Consume Foods That Help in Serotonin Production – Serotonin is important for your body to produce melatonin, responsible for regulating sleep. However, too much serotonin is also linked with poor sleep. To produce the right amount of serotonin, consume tryptophan, an amino acid found mostly in animal-based foods, oats, nuts, and seeds. Carbohydrates and vitamin B6 are also required for the right amount of serotonin.
Eat Three Hours before Going to Bed – This helps in the general body metabolism and helps you stay fit.
Avoid Caffeine, Sugary Drinks, and Alcohol – Staying hydrated is the key to a full night’s sleep. Alcohol dehydrates you and sugary drinks come in the way of your sleep.
Don’t Eat Dessert Near Bedtime – Low-fiber, high-sugar snacks can increase and then decrease your blood sugar. Irregular changes in blood sugar levels interrupt your sleep in various ways.
Avoid Having Late-Night Indulgences – Consuming an excessive amount of any kind of food near your bedtime will make it harder for you to sleep early. On the other hand, going to bed with an empty stomach can also negatively affect your sleep.
You only get to live once. Make the most of it which can only happen if you have the energy to do it, by eating a balanced dinner to a full night’s sleep.