It is recommended that adults get at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night. Depending on your career, schedule, and family life, this may be highly difficult. However, no matter how many hours of sleep you get, it should be quality sleep. While it’s well known that preparing for quality sleep involves turning off your electronics a couple hours before bed and engaging in a relaxing activity, it’s also important to think about what you eat. Some foods may actually prevent you from falling asleep and getting a good night’s rest. Below are the most common foods that you should avoid to you get quality sleep.
For further information, visit the best sleep doctor Manhattan has around.
Foods that Prevent Sleep
Below is a list of foods that surprisingly prevent sleep. Try to avoid these foods, especially right before bed if you want to improve your sleep hygiene.
Hamburgers:
Dense dishes like beef or other red meats should be avoided at least four hours before you go to sleep. While beef is a good source of protein and iron, the protein and fat can take hours to digest. You can either opt for an early dinner or choose a leaner meat alternative like chicken or turkey.
Processed Meat:
Cold cuts and things like ham and cheese sandwiches are a quick, easy, and tasty dinner. You won’t want to make this a regular habit as it could be the reason you’re unable to quickly fall asleep. The high sodium content in cold cuts and processed meats can leave you bloated and cause fluid retention before bed. Additionally, the high sodium might make you thirstier, which can cause you to get up in the middle of the night due to bathroom trips. If you can’t give up processed meat, opt for a sandwich at lunch versus dinner.
Dark Chocolate:
After reading this, you may be wondering if anything is sacred anymore. Nutritionists have raved about dark chocolate being a healthy alternative to other sweets! However, dark chocolate can have a surprising amount of caffeine. If you’re sensitive to caffeine, then having dark chocolate after dinner for dessert may result in difficulty falling asleep. This is because it takes roughly 5 hours to eliminate the effects of caffeine from your body. Opt for a different dessert after dinner that has less caffeine and sugar.
Hard Cheeses:
For most people, cheese is a staple in their everyday diet. It’s rich, flavorful, and adds flair to any meal or snack you’re eating. Think twice before you eat hard cheese before bed because it is much more difficult to digest due to the high amount of saturated fat it contains. It also can cause heartburn and acid reflux if you lay down to rest too soon after eating. Nutritionists recommend restricting your cheese consumption to at least 4 to 6 hours before bed.
Matcha:
The matcha craze is alive and well as you can choose from things like matcha donuts, boba, smoothies, cookies, and even stir-fry. Matcha is just a powdered form of green tea, but it has become a trendy and tasty source of flavor. The drawback of the matcha trend is that it has a higher amount of sugar. This can keep you up at night or cause you to wake up in the middle of the night, unable to fall back asleep.
You may be wondering what is left to eat after you have read the list of things you should eliminate a few hours before bed. While it’s understandable that it may be difficult to eliminate these foods, it’s important for your overall health to get a good night’s rest. If you struggle with sleep and get less than the recommended seven to nine hours each night, it’s likely time to contact a sleep specialist. Avoiding foods that prevent sleep is only the first step.
Insomnia Treatment in Manhattan
While your diet may impact your sleep, there are also a variety of other factors that may be causing you difficulty at night. If you have been unable to get the recommended amount of sleep each night for over two weeks, you should contact the sleep specialist. The signs and symptoms of insomnia include mood swings, depression, anxiety, memory loss, and fatigue. If you have insomnia or another sleep disorder, you’re definitely not alone as roughly 50-70 million adults suffer from a sleep disorder. Sleep MD offers the best insomnia treatment Manhattan has around.
Sleep Specialist in Manhattan
If you are struggling with sleep, contact Sleep Doctor MD for support and solutions to getting a good night’s rest. Dr. Shukla is a sleep doctor with over fifteen years of experience working with patients who have struggled with sleep. Dr. Shukla is focused on getting his patients back to their full potential and getting a good night’s rest. If you are experiencing issues with sleep, schedule an appointment with Dr. Shukla and his team!
