Making small changes to your diet can help you get a better sleep at night, according to an expert.
Putting a meal in the microwave before bed or grabbing a midnight snack is a common habit.
However, this could be making it more difficult for you to drift off to sleep at night.
What you eat as part of your diet can decrease the quality of your sleep as well as directly affect your wellbeing.
The food and drink you consume throughout the day has an impact on your rest because of the various nutrients and chemicals you are putting in your body.
Speaking to Magnet, owner of the Therapeutic Kitchen Jane Mostowfi explained: “As a Nutritional Therapist, one of the first things I ask my clients is about their sleep.
"What you eat during the day can have a massive effect on how you sleep at night, but also poor sleep can really have an effect on how you eat the next day so it becomes a vicious cycle when poor eating habits/sleep are involved.
Have you ever noticed that when you have had a bad night’s sleep, the next day you are craving carbs and high sugar foods, this is because poor sleep can disrupt the hormones in your digestive tract that tell your brain that you are hungry or full”.
What foods and drinks can help you get a better night's sleep?
There are certain eating habits and foods that will help you balance your blood sugar levels and improve your sleep.
Focus on relaxing as you eat - this helps encourage your parasympathetic nervous system to “rest and digest”
Eat foods that are real and unprocessed
Always make sure each meal has 50 per cent colourful veggies,
Eat a good breakfast - breakfast can set you up for the day and stabilise blood sugar levels
Eat three proper meals a day
If you need a snack, grab some unsalted seeds or nuts, or a hard-boiled egg - these are protein and healthy fat rich with minimal carbs and will keep your blood sugar balanced
What foods and drinks should you avoid to help improve your sleep?
There are certain foods and drinks that can actually have a negative impact on your sleep. The foods listed below may impact your blood sugar levels, therefore impacting your sleep.
Foods, drinks and habits you may want to avoid include...
Heavy ‘carb rich’ foods
Late-night snacking
Binge drinking alcohol
Caffeine
How can I tell if my blood glucose levels are affecting my sleep?
There are a few telltale signs hinting that your blood glucose levels are impacting your sleep schedule, according to Jane.
- Do you wake up consistently at 2 or 3 am in the morning?
- Do you feel hangry upon waking in the morning?
- Do you wake up to urinate but also feel hungry?
- Do you feel like you want a midnight snack?
- Do you ever wake up feeling dizzy in the middle of the night or in the morning?
If you have answered yes to any of these questions, then unsteady blood sugar levels might be the culprit of your sleep disturbances.
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