By Lawrence Agbo

The food you eat before bed can lead to digestive discomfort, acid reflux, or spikes in blood sugar that interfere with the body’s ability to relax and transition smoothly into sleep.

By choosing foods wisely in the evening, you allow the digestive system to rest, reduce the likelihood of waking up frequently at night, and prepare you for a peaceful night’s sleep.

Here are nine foods to avoid before bed to improve sleep quality and avoid disruptions through the night.

Spicy Foods

Spicy foods like chilli, hot sauce, and peppers can cause indigestion and acid reflux, especially when lying down. The compound responsible for the heat in spicy foods, Capsaicin can also raise body temperature, making you feel discomfort and harder to sleep.

Chocolate

Chocolate contains caffeine and theobromine, especially dark chocolate, which contains fewer sugars and higher caffeine, which can increase heart rate and make it harder to fall asleep.

Due to these factors, experts generally advise avoiding chocolate at night to allow for a deeper and more uninterrupted sleep cycle.

Alcohol

Drinking alcohol before going to bed may make you feel drowsy and dizzy and you enjoy the feeling it gives especially when you fall asleep but the amounts of alcohol in your blood during the night can disrupt your REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, which is crucial for cognitive functioning, mood regulation, and overall restfulness. Taking alcohol before going to bed can also make you visit the bathroom many times and it is strongly linked to insomnia.

Fried and Fatty Foods

Fried and fatty foods, such as fried chicken, french fries, pizza, burgers, and other heavy meals, take longer to digest, keeping your stomach active and causing discomfort when you’re trying to fall asleep.

Also, they can trigger acid reflux, which gets worse when you’re lying down and can lead to a night of interrupted sleep.

Citrus Fruits

Citrus fruits like oranges, grapefruits, and lemons contain high acidity and can be disruptive to sleep when eaten close to bedtime. The acidity in these fruits can lead to heartburn or acid reflux, especially when you are lying down after taking it. They’re also high in vitamin C natural sugar, which can give you a quick energy boost which can make it harder to sleep properly.

Sugary Cereals or Sweets

Sugary cereals or sweets may seem like a tempting late-night snack, but they can make it more difficult to

Beans

Beans are one of the foods to avoid before going to bed at night due to their high fibre content and protein, which are known to produce gas in the digestive system. Also, it contains oligosaccharides, a type of sugar that can be difficult to digest, especially in the evening when digestion naturally slows down.

Tomato-Based Foods

Foods that contain tomatoes can disrupt your sleep especially if you take them in the evening before bedtime. Tomatoes are naturally acidic, which can stimulate the release of norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter that increases brain activity and can lead to acid reflux or heartburn, particularly when lying down.

Red Meat

Eating red meat before going to bed is not a good option if you intend to have a sound sleep because it contains protein and saturated fats, which require more time to digest and may contribute to increased production of stomach acid and cause heartburn or indigestion when lying down. The heme iron found in red meat has also been linked to increased alertness, which could further disrupt your sleep cycle.