Sleeplessness is more common than you think. According to a Healthline report, 1 in 3 Americans doesn't get the recommended amount of sleep.

But before we get into how it affects your sleep, let's understand what constitutes insomnia.

Insomnia can involve:

• trouble falling asleep
• difficulty staying asleep
• waking up too early

And a big part of this can be your diet. Erica Jansen published a report at the University of Michigan, highlighting her research on the relationship between eating choices and sleep patterns.

How was the study conducted?

She conducted another research with 1000 participants aged between 21 and 30. All the participants followed an online dietary intervention.

Under that plan, they increased their consumption of vegetables and fruits. After three months, it was found that participants who increased their healthy consumption had better sleep.

The reason is that some foods contain components like melatonin, which help with better sleep. On the other hand, if you consume unhealthy, heavy, or oily foods, it can cause acid reflux, which can hamper your sleep.

When we consume heavy food before bed, our body directly creates energy to digest that food, which can also hamper our sleep.

You can also avoid these 5 foods

Foods that contain high amounts of water: drinking water is good. However, when you consume too much water or eat food that contains a high level of water before sleep, it fills your bladder. This can disturb your bedtime. Some instances of such foods are watermelon, cucumbers, and tomatoes.

Foods loaded with tyramine: Aged cheese, fermented soy, and overripe foods are some instances of tyramine-intense foods. It is recommended to avoid such foods at night. These foods release amino acids and signal the brain to work more actively.

Spicy foods: spicy food is something you need to avoid at night. It can create heartburn. It can also increase body temperature, which can hamper our rest at night.

Caffeine: You need to avoid foods or drinks like coffee and tea at night. These foods are filled with caffeine, which disturbs our sleep.

High-fat meals: Intense amounts of fat take time to digest. It can cause acid reflux if not properly digested. It is suggested to avoid foods high in fat.

Written by

Supradeep Dutta

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar