To eat and drink…? Or not to eat or drink…before bed? Those are the questions! Can certain foods or certain drinks help us to sleep? Or is it best to avoid eating and drinking at bedtime?
In this blog post, Dr Lindsay Browning explores what to eat and drink to help sleep. She identifies food that most beneficial for helping you to sleep, as well as those to avoid close to bedtime or during the night.
Should you eat or drink before bed?
If somebody goes to bed hungry or wakes up hungry in the middle of the night hungry, they may struggle to fall asleep or to fall back to sleep. In which case, it may be worth having some food in the evening an hour or two before bed that will give them slow release sustained energy through the night to help the person stay asleep. This is much more preferable to waking up in the middle of the night and drinking a glass of milk and a piece of toast at 3am.
If you’re not hungry when you’re trying to sleep, and you don’t wake up hungry in the middle of the night, then you may not need to add additional food before bed. In fact, some people may find their sleep is worse if they eat too close to bedtime.
If you are going to eat close to bedtime, then it’s best to avoid spicy, heavy, sugary or fatty things, which may be harder to digest, causing indigestion and disturbing sleep.
What should you avoid eating and drinking to help you sleep?
Limit your intake of caffeine
Caffeine is a stimulant that can stay in your system for up to 8 hours. Be very mindful of how long before you plan to go to sleep that you last drink coffee, tea, energy drinks, etc., as well as foods that contain caffeine, like chocolate.
Reduce your alcohol intake
Although alcohol is a sedative it actually leads to worse ‘quality’ sleep. Importantly, don’t rely on drinking alcohol to help you get to sleep. Alcohol can also disrupt your sleep later in the night.
Reduce what you drink (but don’t eliminate drinking before bed)
If you drink a lot of water before bed, then you are likely to wake up needing the toilet during the night. However, if you completely eliminate drinking anything several hours before bed, then you are still likely to wake up in the night, but you will just wake up thirsty, instead of needing the toilet.
The best thing to do is to drink regular small amounts of water in the hours before bed to keep you hydrated, but not have a large quantity of liquid.
Avoid spicy, fatty and sugary foods
If you eat spicy, fatty or sugary foods near to bedtime, they can cause indigestion. Your body will also have to work extra hard to digest these types of foods. This can cause you to wake up more frequently in the night, disrupting your sleep.
When should you eat or drink for the best night’s sleep?
You should try to avoid eating your main evening meal too near to bedtime. However, a small snack before bed can be helpful to give you slow release energy through the night.
Foods that are high in tryptophan are actually beneficial before sleep. These include foods such as milk, chicken, turkey, salmon and nuts.
Traditional food and drink recommendations for sleep
Ideal bedtime foods would be things such as:
- whole rolled oats (which gives sustained slow release energy),
- bananas (also slow release)
- almonds (which contain melatonin).
- a brown bread turkey sandwich (since turkey contains tryptophan which our bodies use to make melatonin).
Kiwis have also been shown to help sleep. One small study found that eating two kiwi fruit before bed, improved sleep, but this was a very small study with only 24 people and needs to be properly replicated to see if the results are truly significant.
A warm drink
Instead of hot chocolate which contains sugar, a hot milky drink before bed is a good option. The warm drink helps to promote sleep. Plus milk contains tryptophan, which is a precursor of melatonin – the hormone that helps us feel sleepy.
If you are not keen on milk or milk alternatives, any non-caffeinated warm drinks before bed can be helpful to improve relaxation and sleep.
Viral sleep food hacks and trends·
Sleepy girl mocktail
One viral trend is to make a ‘mocktail’ before bed, containing cherry juice, magnesium and a prebiotic soda. This may work because tart cherry juice contains tryptophan and melatonin, which are associated with a good night’s sleep. However, there are no overwhelming scientific studies to show that these supplements have a significant effect on someone’s sleep. As long as the cherry juice is unsweetened and not taken in large quantities, then it’s not likely to do any harm. Plus as it’s a natural product with minerals and vitamins, it might even be beneficial to general health.
Magnesium and pre-biotics have been suggested to improve sleep too, but similar to tart cherry juice, there are few studies to say that they significantly help sleep. For example, none of these substances are listed as recommendations for poor sleep within the NHS or in world health guidelines.
Viral bedtime smoothies
Smoothies, such as those combining almond butter, rolled oats, spinach and bananas are all over social media.
If somebody goes to bed hungry or wakes up hungry in the middle of the night hungry, they may struggle to fall asleep or to fall back to sleep. In which case, as mentioned above, foods like whole rolled oats, which gives sustained slow release energy are a good option for a smoothie. As mentioned above, almonds also contain melatonin.
However, if you’re not hungry when you’re trying to sleep, and you don’t wake up hungry in the middle of the night, then you may not need to a smoothie of any kind, or any additional food before bed.
In fact, some people may find their sleep is worse if they eat too close to bedtime.
Supplements – melatonin gummies
Melatonin supplements in the form of gummies have also been ‘trending’. If you have a melatonin deficiency, then taking melatonin before bed may be helpful, but as a general rule, where someone’s sleeping problem is caused through anxiety or poor sleep hygiene, taking additional melatonin may not make any difference to their sleep.
In the UK melatonin is not available over the counter. It is only available on prescription. It is only allowed to be prescribed by GPs for over 55s, children with autism and ADHD who may struggle to produce melatonin due to neurological differences, compared to neurotypical children, and for those with circadian disorders. Therefore, it should not be taken without medical advice.
Eating well and sleep
Eating healthily as well as getting a good night’s sleep is so important. Thinking about your food intake throughout the day can also help with sleeping well. Therefore, do think about not only what you choose to eat shortly before going to bed, but also what you can eat earlier in the evening and throughout the day too.