Sleep & Food in Adults
- María Luisa Feijóo
- 23 jun 2021
- 5 Min. de lectura
How do food and drink influence sleep?
Have you ever asked yourself this question? Do you take it into account daily?
Nutrition is the process by which essential nutrients are obtained to develop all the body's vital functions, including sleep. For this reason, we consider it necessary to talk about how food can affect our quality of sleep, both positively and negatively.
On the one hand, it is known that sleep affects our diet. Specifically, it is known that the lack of sleep and poor quality sleep generate an increase in the production of Ghrelin (the hormone that increases appetite) and a decrease in Leptin (the hormone that decreases appetite). This hormonal change results in an increase in caloric intake at night, composed of high-calorie foods such as fats or refined carbohydrates. Additionally, when we do not get enough sleep, we reduce physical exercise and increase sedentarism during the day (González-Ortiz, López-Bautista, Valencia-Flores & Espinosa-Cuevas, 2020).
On the other hand, we know that the time of day we consume food and the frequency with which we do it is key to maintaining good health and, therefore, the quality of our sleep. However, this topic is not talked about very often. Therefore, below we want to present you the effects that food has on our sleep and some ideas on structuring a balanced dinner that won't affect your sleep.
> What foods can negatively affect your sleep?
In terms of diet and beverage intake, there are some foods that you should avoid close to bedtime.
For example:
Foods highly seasoned with hot spices can be stimulating and have unpleasant digestive effects.
Foods that cause dyspepsia due to flatulence (legumes), heartburn (spices, coffee and alcohol) or reflux (chocolate, mint and fatty foods), and those that have diuretic properties can affect sleep.
Stimulating drinks such as coffee, tea, guaraná, cocoa, mate and colas. Although we are pretty familiar with caffeine, it is essential to note that chocolate and tea have a stimulating effect due to their theobromine and theophylline content.
Alcoholic beverages: although in the short term, these drinks cause drowsiness and can induce sleep, in the long term, they affect the structure of sleep, reducing deep sleep and producing early awakenings.
Although it is recommended to avoid or reduce the consumption of these foods, it must be remembered that their effect on sleep will depend on the amount, the substance ingested and personal differences.
> What foods can help you sleep well?
Now that we know what to avoid in terms of food, the question is, what are the foods that promote sleep? Generally speaking, it is known that a balanced and varied diet - which includes fresh fruits, vegetables, cereals, proteins and complex carbohydrates - as well as regular meal times, help improve our sleep.
If we talk more specifically about what types of foods improve or promote our sleep, we find that foods rich in tryptophan* are the best; this compound is essential for the secretion of serotonin and melatonin (critical hormones in the regulation of sleep).
Some examples of foods rich in tryptophan are bananas, plantain, pineapple or avocado (avocado), milk, meat, eggs, fish oil and dried fruits such as walnuts. Likewise, carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, cereals, bread, rice, legumes, etc.) are one of the combinations that make it easier for tryptophan to enter the brain to form serotonin and then melatonin.
In addition to all this, there is also milk: great food that improves sleep patterns since it is rich in α-lactalbumin (which contains a large amount of tryptophan).
> Mechanism of food intake and regulation.
What we consume can affect our sleep, but the schedules of our meals also affect our sleep.
Various studies have found a positive correlation between regular meal times, a low-calorie diet, and hours of sleep. In addition, it is known that those who have regular meal times consume less fat and sweets than those who do not eat at a specific time and have better health indices. In contrast, people who do not have regular meal times - on snack-based diets - tend to get their energy from sweets and fats, which results in low health indices and lower quality of sleep (Falkenberg et al., 2021; Sanlier & Sabuncular, 2020).
On the other hand, it is known that the quality of sleep worsens when dinner contains a significant amount of carbohydrates and sugars at the end of the day and is consumed very close to bedtime (<2 hours). This results in significantly more awakening at night and less deep sleep (Suni & Truong, 2020).
Conclusions and practical recommendations.
In conclusion, a balanced diet during the day, especially at dinner, is the best. In practical terms, an ideal dinner should include complex cereals (rice, or tubers, or something with oatmeal or flour or legumes, etc.) accompanied by vegetables (raw and cooked), fat from oils (olive oil).
Additionally, try to:
Avoid foods rich in tyrosine amino acids and phenylalanine at the last hours of the night, such as red meat, eggs and ham.
Consume foods that are rich in tryptophan (precursor of melatonin and serotonin) in the afternoon, such as dairy, bananas, meat, bluefish or nuts (nuts), as well as slow absorption carbohydrates.
Moderate the consumption of beverages rich in methylxanthines, such as coffee, tea and chocolate.
Avoid foods that produce flatulence, acidity or reflux.
Avoid excessive alcohol consumption.
Finally, keep in mind that although food guidelines have been found to promote better sleep quality, the way food is processed may vary from person to person. However, we trust that this article will help you evaluate your diet and food intake to reach a more balanced diet that does not affect sleep.
Sweet dreams!
Special Collaboration
This article written in collaboration with Cecilia Bas Creator of Nutritudía
Cecilia has a degree in nutrition from the University of the Republic in Montevideo, Uruguay. She holds a postgraduate degree in food disorder and food addiction from the Argentine Society of Clinical Nutrition. She has also received training in psychotherapy and obesity and the psychological implications of chronic disease.
To learn more about Cecilia you can contact her via:
Instagram @nutritudia.
Webpage: https://nutritudia.webnode.com.uy
References
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González-Ortiz A, López-Bautista F, Valencia-Flores M, Espinosa-Cuevas Á. (2020). Partial sleep deprivation on dietary energy intake in healthy population: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutr Hosp, 37(5):1052-1060. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.20960/nh.03108
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