If you're a light sleeper, you may occasionally turn to midnight snacking to send you off to dreamland. Unfortunately, popular bedtime snacks like cereal and leftover pizza might actually be keeping you up at night.
There's nothing worse than trying to fall asleep on an empty stomach, and sometimes the only thing that keeps me from the pantry is not wanting to brush my teeth again. I'll admit: sometimes, food wins.
When this happens, there is only one option — a bedtime snack. What my bedtime snack consists of depends wholly on what I have in the house.
However, as it turns out, there are a lot of things you should avoid eating at certain times of the day. For instance, you shouldn't eat bananas first thing in the morning.
As you probably guessed, morning isn't the only time of day that should come with dietary restrictions.
Learn about the bedtime snacks to avoid by reading on.
Thumbnail Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Case / RebecaLR
1. Chocolate
There are few things more powerful than a chocolate craving. However, you'll need all of your strength to resist temptation before bed.
Men's Health explains that chocolate is not only full of sugar; it's also often a hidden source of caffeine. Avoid chocolate unless you're planning on postponing sleep for a while.
2. Pasta
Gorging yourself on pasta the night before a big race or event is a ritual known as carbo-loading.
The carbohydrates in pasta are great if you're trying to increase the amount of fuel stored in your muscles to use during a marathon or endurance event, according to the Mayo Clinic.
However, if you're not extremely physically active, that many ingested carbs before bed will not be burned off. They will quickly turn to fat instead.
3. Pizza
Pizza isn't an ideal bedtime snack for many of the same reasons as pasta, except its extra cheesy toppings and greasiness makes it an even worse choice.
According to Fox News Health, pizza — and its many different acidic and greasy toppings — make it especially hard for your stomach to digest, meaning all the action might keep you up at night.
4. Chili
This probably goes without saying, but a bowl full of meat, cheese, and beans is not going to be your best friend before bed.
If the meat and cheese don't make you gassy, the beans certainly will. Do yourself and your partner a favor by giving yourself a few hours to digest your chili before hitting the hay.
5. Red Meat
Red meat may be delicious, but it isn't celebrated for its health benefits.
A steak or cut of meat may sound like a weird late night snack, but leftovers are always a tempting option.
With that said, you're better off saving it for the morning. Otherwise, all of the protein in red meat will just sit in your stomach and keep you up all night, according to Prevention.
6. Chips
There are few things more salty and delicious-sounding than a bag of chips.
Unfortunately, as we know, chips aren't exactly good for you at any time of the day. However, the grease and salt will just be tough for your sleeping body to digest, and all the salt will dehydrate your system, meaning you might find yourself waking up for a glass of water.
7. Ice Cream
Enjoying ice cream for dessert before bed is a no-brainer. However, something so high in sugar is not an ideal bedtime snack.
Unfortunately, the high sugar content in ice cream doesn't have any chance of being burned off before you go to bed, so your body will convert it to fat.
8. Cereal
Cereal is usually considered to be a morning food — and with good reason!
The breakfast food is high in carbs and, often, sugar. This makes it a good thing to eat in the morning when you have the whole day ahead of you, but not an ideal bedtime snack.
9. Alcohol
We've all probably had alcohol put us to bed on one occasion or another. Alcohol may make us sleepy, but it also interrupts a good night's sleep.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, alcohol turns on both alpha and delta activity in our brains when we sleep. These types of waves contradict each other, interrupting restorative sleep and our circadian rhythms.
10. Caffeine
You probably already know not to drink a cup of coffee before you go to sleep, but you may not know to avoid it for up to six hours before you hit the hay.
Sleep Education reports that consuming coffee up to six hours before you go to bed can cause you to lose up to an hour of sleep. This is even worse for older adults who take even longer to process caffeine.
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