Food and Drinks to Be Avoided Before Bed

If you are having trouble sleeping, the hidden cause might be what you tend to eat or drink before bed. It turns out that some popular items can make it hard for you to sleep shortly after you eat or drink them. So before you make the trip to a Wichita mattress store to get a more comfortable place to sleep, consider whether you normally have any of these food or drinks before bed.

Pizza

If you’re up late and need a midnight snack, it’s tempting to order pizza. But that could be a mistake if you want a full night’s sleep on your comfortable mattress. That’s because the pizza sauce is acidic, so it can be rough on your stomach. In addition, dairy products – such as the cheese on your pizza – may be giving you nightmares, making it hard for you to get a good night’s sleep.

Orange Juice

This is another acidic item that you don’t want to have right before bed if you want to sleep well. The acid in orange juice can make reflux flare up, and then the sugar in it can make it hard for you to relax enough to sleep.

Coffee

It is no secret that caffeine is meant to keep you awake, so you shouldn’t be drinking this right before bed. In fact, if you are having trouble sleeping, you should not consume any caffeine at least six or seven hours before you go to bed. Even decaf is not a good idea, because coffee is acidic, which can lead to stomach problems like reflux and heartburn.

Sugary Cereal

Many people eat sweet cereal right before bed, since it seems like a better alternative to ice cream or cookies. But it might not be much better, because sugary cereal can increase your blood sugar very fast. If you’re going to eat cereal before bed, make it the kind that has very little sugar and a lot of fiber.

Soda

Soda is another item that’s full of sugar, which is not good for you before bed. Plus, if the soda you drink has caffeine, it will make it hard for you to get to sleep. And then there’s the carbonation, which can bother your stomach by causing reflux at bedtime.

Wine

It might sound nice to relax with a glass of wine before bed, but you might actually be damaging your sleep quality with this drink. Alcohol is known for disrupting your sleep, and of course it’s a diuretic, so it could cause you to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom.

Burgers

Sometimes a burger sounds like the only thing that will hit the spot when you’re hungry before bed. But in reality, a burger – or any type of meat with a lot of saturated fat – can be hard on your digestive system right before you lie down. So stick to lighter fare if you need a late-night snack.

If you’re still having trouble sleeping after cutting these foods and drinks out of your nightly routine, come to your local Kansas mattress store and let the Wichita sleep experts at The Mattress Hub help you find a better place to rest your head at night.