For Better Sleep, Avoid These 5 Types of Foods at Night
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Chronic insomnia doesn’t just affect your skin—it can also raise your risk of obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even cancer recurrence or metastasis. Quality sleep supports immune system repair and helps suppress disease progression.
While many factors can lead to insomnia, one often overlooked contributor is diet. What you eat—especially in the evening—can unconsciously influence your sleep quality.
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These 5 Types of Foods Can Disrupt Your Sleep
Coffee and Strong Tea
Both coffee and strong tea contain substantial amounts of caffeine, which suppresses the activity of adenosine—a neurotransmitter involved in sleep regulation. Excessive caffeine intake stimulates the nervous system, increases heart rate and blood pressure, and keeps the brain alert, making it harder to fall asleep.
Moreover, caffeine can reduce melatonin secretion, a hormone that signals your body it's time to sleep.
Caffeine also has a mild diuretic effect. Combined with the fluid intake from coffee or tea, this can increase nighttime urination, further disrupting sleep.
Note: In addition to tea and coffee, other items like chocolate, energy drinks, milk tea, and hot cocoa may also contain significant caffeine. It's advisable to limit their consumption after 2 p.m., especially for those sensitive to caffeine.
Alcohol
While alcohol may initially induce drowsiness, its sedative effects wear off quickly and give way to stimulating effects. This disrupts sleep continuity, often causing frequent awakenings during the night and reducing time spent in deep sleep.
Alcohol also relaxes the muscles around the jaw, which can obstruct the airway and lead to snoring or breathing difficulties, further reducing sleep quality. Even if you sleep for a long duration, you may still wake up feeling groggy and unrested.
High-Fat and High-Sugar Foods
Overeating at night, particularly foods high in fat or sugar, can overburden the gastrointestinal tract, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas. This stimulates the central nervous system and keeps the digestive system active, negatively impacting sleep.
Studies show that among individuals without chronic health conditions, those who habitually consume high-fat diets:
- 41% experience daytime sleepiness
- 47% report poor sleep quality at night
- 54% suffer from mild to moderate sleep apnea
Additionally, eating high-sugar foods before bed may increase the likelihood of nightmares—possibly due to sugar-induced brainwave activity.
Spicy Foods
Spicy foods such as chili peppers, garlic, onions, mustard, and ginger are best avoided in large quantities at night. These foods contain stimulating compounds like capsaicin, which dilate small blood vessels, causing skin redness, warmth, and sweating. They can also irritate the mouth and throat lining, causing dryness or discomfort—all of which can interfere with sleep.
Furthermore, spicy foods can cause a burning sensation in the stomach, increasing gastric burden and leading to sleep disturbances.
Gas-Producing Foods
Foods such as beans, sweet potatoes, cabbage, bread, green peppers, and eggplants can produce excess gas during digestion. Overconsumption may lead to bloating, and those with sensitive stomachs may even experience acid reflux.
A smart dietary approach: Make breakfast or lunch your most substantial meal. Keep dinner light and simple, ideally low in fat and high in protein. Options like fish, chicken, or lean meats are ideal. This not only supports better sleep but also helps with weight management.
These 3 Foods Can Promote Better Sleep
Walnuts – Boost Melatonin Production
Walnuts can triple the body’s natural melatonin levels, thereby enhancing sleep quality.
They are also rich in antioxidant vitamin E, which combats free radicals in the body. Excess free radicals can accelerate oxidative stress in brain cells, disrupting brain function and sleep.
Additionally, the thin membrane found inside walnuts (known as walnut septum) has a calming effect on the central nervous system. People experiencing high stress or frequent dream-disturbed sleep may benefit from drinking walnut septum tea.
Bananas – Rich in Vitamin B6 and Magnesium
Magnesium and vitamin B6 form a powerful duo for relieving stress and aiding sleep. Clinical studies show that these nutrients can temporarily alleviate difficulties in falling asleep.
Vitamin B6 helps regulate the nervous system and supports the production of tryptophan and melatonin in the brain.
Tryptophan synthesizes serotonin, a neurotransmitter that promotes calm and happiness.
Melatonin helps extend the duration of deep sleep.
Magnesium relieves muscle tension and boosts gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels in the body, which has a calming effect on the nervous system.
Bananas are naturally rich in both magnesium and vitamin B6, making them a great evening snack.
Peas – A Nutrient-Packed Sleep Aid
Peas are not only a good source of magnesium but also rich in vitamin C—especially pea shoots. Vitamin C aids the synthesis of neurotransmitters that help improve sleep quality. A deficiency in vitamin C may lead to insomnia, light sleep, or vivid dreaming.
Peas are also high in potassium, containing about 332 mg per 100 grams. Potassium supports cardiac muscle activity and nervous system stability, helping to relieve anxiety and insomnia.
With a calcium content of up to 100 mg per 100 grams, peas are also a great daily source of calcium. Studies from Japan and the U.S. have found that calcium plays a role in regulating deep sleep, and deficiency may impair sleep quality.
