[LifeStyle] Eating habits that you should avoid to sleep better, according to science

[#Steeven.™]

Thanks to the fact that we live in the information age, it is easier for us to access basic knowledge that helps us in our day-to-day life, which previously went unnoticed. One of those 'informative boom' has been information related to food, sports or how to lead a healthy lifestyle.

In the blog on food led by nutritionist Carlos Ríos, Realfooding, who is responsible for disseminating knowledge about real food, that is, avoiding processed foods, they have been explaining for a long time that the eating habits we have transcend all areas of our lifetime.

One of the most important aspects is the diet-sleep relationship. It is a two-way relationship, this means that the poor quality and short duration of sleep makes eating worse and, conversely, eating worse negatively affects rest. From Eat This, they have prepared a list of eating habits that can damage the quality of sleep:

#1. Eat a lot of dinner
Eating a lot of food before going to sleep can make you sick before going to sleep. The human body takes between 2 and 3 hours to digest what it eats, so if you have eaten a lot of dinner and are also going to go to sleep soon, you are making a double mistake.

It is best to choose an early dinner and dinners that are easy to digest.

#2. Eat spicy at night
If eating too much was already a problem, imagine your stomach working to deal with the spiciness. Additionally, Meir Kryger MD, a professor at Yale School of Medicine, explains that spicy foods can make you wake up at night, and cause what are called 'awakenings from sleep.'

The expert assures that people who consume a lot of spicy, tend to have much lighter dreams without going into a deep sleep.

#3. Drink caffeine after dinner
It seems obvious, but it is a very established practice. Drink coffee or tea after meals. Caffeine and theine are stimulant substances that can alter the natural processes of drowsiness that we get after eating. If you are into tea, you can choose to drink infusions without theine, and if you love coffee, at night it is best to go decaf.

#4. Eat chocolate
Who doesn't like a sweet before bed? It is a common practice, but the amount of caffeine in chocolate (the purer it is, the more it contains) makes it stimulating for your brain. Phenylethylamine, is a compound in chocolate that reaches the brain, triggers a state of euphoria and well-being when eating it, but it also contains theobromine, which causes an increase in heart rate.

#5. Eating foods that cause heartburn
Sometimes the solution to improve our sleep cycle is as simple as not eating foods that make us feel bad. Some of the foods that cause more acidity are tomato, or fatty or fried foods, onion or spicy as mentioned before. Despite that, there may be others who feel bad for you, the important thing is to know yourself and try to eliminate the foods that feel bad from the dinners.

#6. Drink milk before bed
It is a habit that is often depicted in movies, as if it were an everyday scene: having a glass of milk before going to sleep. But there is no scientific evidence to say that it is good for falling asleep or relaxing. Milk contains an amino acid called tryptophan, which can trigger the production of melatonin, meaning your brain feels that it does it good.

#7. Drinking alcohol before going to sleep
Alcohol has a sedative effect, and therefore makes you fall asleep more easily. But it usually affects the quality of sleep.

There is no specific recommendation on the amount of alcohol that can be consumed without affecting the sleep cycle because each person is different. If you feel like you wake up in the middle of the night, you could consider whether you might need to eliminate wine glasses or alcoholic beverages from your dinners.

#8. There are medications that interfere with sleep
Medications can also affect sleep, for example those indicated for high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, etc. In this case, it would be advisable to consult with your family doctor or a sleep doctor if it is possible that the medication is interceding in the quality of sleep, and work together for a solution.