10 Foods to Avoid Before Going to Sleep

Many people enjoy preparing a snack before they drift off to dreamland each night. Some individuals enjoy the ritual of enjoying their favorite beverage or snack as they prepare for bedtime. But if you want to enjoy a deep and restful night's sleep, Bunkers Melbourne, the bunk bed specialist, recommends that you avoid snacking on any of the following 10 foods that can interfere with your body's ability to get a deep sleep it deserves in order for you to wake up feeling rested and refreshed the next morning.

Candy and Sugary Foods 

Foods loaded with sugar may provide your body with plenty of energy during the day, but you want your body to slow down and not speed up right before going to sleep. 

Fried Foods 

Take a pass on that fried chicken leg or plate of French fries right before retiring. Fried foods are difficult to digest and may cause you to wake up in the middle of the night with abdominal cramps, stomach aches or heartburn.

Alcoholic Beverages 

Many people assume that since a drink or two often makes them feel sleepy, an alcoholic drink is a great before bedtime tonic. But alcohol actually makes your body dehydrated and causes a more shallow sleep pattern that wakes people up several times throughout the night. 

Spicy Foods 

That bowl of chili or chips dipped in taco sauce create an abundance of excess stomach acid. Instead of experiencing sweet dreams, consuming spicy foods before bedtime may have you waking up and reaching for an antacid to calm a rumbling stomach or uncomfortable feelings of heartburn. 

Foods and Beverages with Caffeine 

A steaming hot cup of coffee is a great pick me upper at the start of your day, but coffee and any other foods and beverages with large doses of caffeine won't do you any favors when it's lights out at the end of your day. The same goes for that piece of dark chocolate you've been saving, which is also loaded with caffeine that is counterproductive to a good night's rest. 

Red Meat 

Grabbing a hamburger or fixing a roast beef sandwich as a bedtime snack will prove to be a bad idea because red meat is high in both protein and fat, two ingredients that make your digestive system work all the harder. Putting extra stress on your digestive system right before falling to sleep will result in a much less restful and shallower sleep pattern that will have you groaning the next morning that you still feel tired. 

Celery 

Snacking on celery might seem like a good idea for those feeling slightly hungry before bedtime and want a low-calorie snack. But celery works as a diuretic, which means that it will irritate your kidneys and cause you to wake up in the middle of the night with the urge to urinate. 

Ice Cream 

Just like red meat, ice cream will place more stress on your digestive tract all through the night and it's loaded with fats and sugars. Research has also shown that snacking on sugary and fatty snacks before bedtime increases bad dreams.

Pizza 

Save that extra slice of pizza pie for tomorrow's lunch rather than gulping it down before bedtime. In addition to the acid in the tomato sauce, pizza also contains high levels of grease, fat, and carbohydrates which will keep your stomach churning busily all evening. 

Cereal 

Most breakfast cereals are coated with a load of sugar, so even though the milk you pour into the bowl may have a calming effect, the sugar content will make your blood sugar level spike, not at all conducive to sweet dreams and a restful night in a Bunkers Melbourne bunk bed!