What’s food got to do with sleep?
Quite a lot actually! As busy leaders and professionals, I know (as you know), that sleep is your number one priority. Your number one best friend. Yet, it can be hard to achieve good quality sleep. For so many reasons, and way too many reasons for this little blog. So I’m going to focus on one area in this blog, and that’s food and sleep.
Sometimes this simple connection is overlooked. We’ve all heard and understood that caffeine can really upset your sleep and most recommendations are that people stop drinking caffeine by about lunch time. However, there are other links in the food/sleep connection that I’d like to bring to your attention. Each body and metabolism is different, but if you are having trouble sleeping there is no harm in trying these out on yourself and see if they make a difference to your quality of sleep.
Learning from the French - protein and sleep, who knew!
This one I picked up on when I was living in France with my very young children (18 years ago!). I noticed that the pre-packaged meals for children being weaned off milk were in two specific categories. For lunch it was a meal served in a pre-prepared tray. This meal always had some form of protein in it. For dinner, it was varieties of vegetable soups and mashes in a packet. This did mirror the a-typical french way of eating. A nice big lunch with a smaller meal at dinner.
So, while in Rome (or the south of France) do as they do. I proceeded to feed my entire family in this way. After a couple of weeks, I remember wanting to have some lamb, so I served that up for dinner. I have this meal so distinctly in my memory, because what happened next really blew my mind.
The children were wired up like they had never been! Literally bouncing off the walls as if I had given them an entire meal of sugar. They were play fighting, then got tired which turned into real fighting between themselves and a massive struggle to settle them down to bed.
I remember wondering if the red meat I had served up had something to do with it. The fact that I had a very disturbed sleep that same night didn’t really register because, who gets good quality sleep with toddlers in the house!
Two weeks later I purposely bought some minced meat and made burgers for the family. I wanted to see if that incident was a one off. Low and behold, the same scenario occurred. I did some research and yes, protein (in particular red meat), ignites the brain and can make you very much alert. It turns your brain on. The other important piece of information is that proteins take longer to digest which then disrupts your sleep as your body isn’t in full rest mode.
The penny dropped as to why my sleep was bad after those types of meals too! Since then I’ve made clear choices to avoid heavy protein dinners and now, most nights, we opt for a vegetarian meals. Leaving the protein for lunch, which is also a win because it will fire up the brain throughout the afternoon. If I am having protein for dinner, I try and stick to leaner chicken or fish.
Eating times and sleep
Now, contrary to the French who sometimes start eating dinner around 9pm, eating dinner much earlier will help you sleep better.
I’ve tested this out on myself so many times over the years and tracked it on my fitbit watch too. The earlier I eat, the deeper and more quality sleep I get. Recently I even tested eating dinner at 5.30pm and heading to bed at 9.30pm….sweet sleep!
Similarly to a heavy protein meal, if you eat later and then head to bed within 2 hours, your body is still digesting and won’t go into rest mode. You’ll probably have a disturbed sleep.
Also, eating late at night disrupts your body's natural circadian rhythm and can lead to weight gain. No-one really wants that!
So, try and aim for at least 3 hours of no eating before bed time.
Sugar and sleep
Am I saying don’t have dessert after dinner? Well, if it has sugar in it…then yes that is what I’m saying.
Consuming sugar in the evening causes blood sugar fluctuations. These are basically rapid spikes and crashes in blood sugar levels. These fluctuations can lead to frequent awakenings during the night. Sugar can also increase brain activity, making it harder for your mind to relax and fall into a deep, restorative sleep.
I swap out dessert for a delicious cup of herbal tea. Fruit teas can really feel like a sweet treat!
Tips for your to try out
If you are having trouble sleeping and your brain is already awake with the millions of things you need to do or are worrying about, then try these simple tips and notice any difference they might make.
Try eating smaller vegetarian meals for dinner for a week or two and have your protein meals at lunch.
Try eating your dinner earlier, say 5.30pm or 6pm allowing 3-4 hours before you head to bed. No late night snacks.
Cut out the sweet treats after dinner completely.
Put the mask on you first, eat dinner wisely and thrive again!
Subscribe now to get these blogs delivered direct to your inbox and get your FREE Top Sleep Tips PDF.