If You Are Eating These 10 Foods at Bedtime You are Making a Huge Mistake!
It’s nighttime and you have the munchies. You don’t want anything heavy or greasy, no coffee of course since it is bedtime. So we have an idea that there are a few things not to eat, right? Well let’s look at a few more unsuspecting foods just lurking around waiting to play Freddy Krueger to your happy night.
Celery
Unless you are particularly found of getting up to use the bathroom several times a night, forget grabbing this guy. He may have few calories and as a result be a top choice for dieters, however, he’s a diuretic. That means you’re going to go back and forth to the bathroom several times before the sun says you’re done with your bed for the night.
Candy Bars and Candy
The obvious reason why to avoid these would be the sugar. Let’s look a little deeper though. Sugar creates energy BUT….(insert creepy film sound effects) candy and candy bars at bedtime are statistically proven to bring on nightmares.
Red Meat
The problems with eating red meat at bedtime are numerous to be honest. First of all red meat is heavy so you’re going to feel like you have a rock in your belly most of the night. Secondly, because it takes a long time to digest you could be gassy, nauseous and have stomach cramps during the hours of digestion process.
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Garlic
Unless you’re vulnerable to vampire attacks, avoid garlic just before bed. It can upset your stomach, induce acid reflex and cause bloating. If that isn’t enough, your partner will thank you for not eating it when giving goodnight smooches.
Dark Chocolate
While dark chocolate is healthy for you in moderation, it’s also about timing of eating it too. Dark chocolate has a high amount of caffeine in it. This is reason enough as caffeine keeps you awake. However, it also contains theobromine, which can make your heart race. Not exactly relaxing, is it? So, save the dark chocolate for the daytime hours when you need a pick-me-up or try white chocolate.
Ice Cream
Who doesn’t love ice cream? The fat content is so high and if you eat it then go to sleep, there’s no activity for it to burn off the fat. Hence, fat in ice cream becomes stored fat in your body. Not good if you’re watching your weight. Next, the sugar becomes a stimulant that will keep you full of energy until you burn off the sugar. In addition, foods high in sugar have been proven to lead to nightmares. Here we thought it was the clown that served the ice cream that gave us nightmares…
Broccoli, Cauliflower and Brussel Sprouts
These 3 items all go hand-in-hand. They are healthy for you, so why are they bad at bed time? It has to do with the amount of fiber. Breaking down and digesting fiber
can cause gas and bloating making sleeping uncomfortable for you and your partner if you catch my drift (yes, I did go there…drift!)
Spaghetti, Pizza and Lasagna
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All 3 of these have high carbs and acidy tomato sauce. High carbs turn to fat and as we learned before turn to stored fat. Tomatoes are high in acid causing heartburn and acid reflux. Not to mention most Italian food is heavy on the garlic. Leave the Italian food for a romantic EARLY dinner.
Alcohol
You might be thinking that drinking before going to bed will help relax you and ensure a great night’s sleep. The problem with alcohol, especially when drinking quite a bit, is it will dehydrate you waking you up in the middle of the night to get a drink. Plus it acts as a diuretic making you have frequent bathroom trips. Lastly, if you cross the border of one-too-many, you will find yourself on your personal in-home amusement park full of rollercoasters and tilting rides. These rides all end up in a one way ticket to sleeping next to the toilet.
Lemons, Oranges and Grapefruits
These citrus fruits are very acidy and will do to the same effects as tomatoes. You can bring on acid reflux, upset stomach, gas, cramps and more. Not to mention the acid in these fruits are horrible for your teeth if you don’t brush right after eating them.
To summarize, healthy food is good food still, just make sure you eat it about 2-3 hours before bedtime. Food high in caffeine, garlic, sugar or acid should be avoided close to going to bed. As always, monitor how much alcohol you consume in order to enjoy your night.
