7 Surprising Foods That Can Interfere With Your Sleep

If you feel physically uncomfortable after eating overly processed junk food, it certainly won’t do your sleep any favors. Pizza packs a double whammy because it is high in saturated fat and sodium.

“Foods that are higher in saturated fat should be avoided at night — for example, butter, ice cream, and fried foods like french fries,” says Gabriel. In fact, one study involving 26 normal-weight adults who usually slept between seven and nine hours a night found that high amounts of saturated fat eaten throughout the day led to lighter and “less restorative” sleep. A single slice of cheese pizza from a 14-inch pie has nearly 5 grams (g) of saturated fat, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Bonnie Taub-Dix, RDN, author of Read It Before You Eat It — Taking You From Label to Table, says, “Many highly processed foods are also salty, which could cause you to wake up during the night to reach for something to drink.”

We already know too much sugar is linked to many health issues. It can also make sleep more difficult. Smoothies may seem like a nice, healthy snack, but research that looked at beverages marketed to children in the United Kingdom found that packaged smoothie products averaged even more sugar per serving (around 2½ teaspoons) than juice. About 40 percent of the products tested contained close to 4 teaspoons of sugar.

For some people, sweets provide an energy spike that could keep them counting sheep instead of sawing logs. Plus, refined sugars can induce rapid fluctuations in your blood-glucose levels, Taub-Dix says, which can spike adrenaline and make it difficult to fall asleep.

“If you are hungry before bed, a complex carbohydrate or protein is a better choice, like whole-wheat toast or a banana with Greek yogurt,” Gabriel suggests. “Try eating an open-faced peanut butter or almond butter sandwich on whole-grain bread. Almond and peanut butters are both high in protein and healthy, unsaturated fat, while whole-wheat bread offers fiber and more complex carbohydrates than white bread, keeping your blood-sugar levels stable while you sleep.” Gabriel suggests bananas before bedtime. Per the USDA, they have high levels of potassium, magnesium, and fiber. All these nutrients were found to help encourage sound sleep, according to research.

“Ideally, a meal right before bed should be smaller than ones during your more active portions of the day. One piece of toast with a tablespoon or two of peanut butter or a small banana should suffice.”

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It’s a cruel irony that the more delicious the cheese, the worse it may be in terms of its impact on sleep. While the protein in cheese provides tryptophan, an amino acid that research has shown may aid in relaxation and sleep, Gabriel says not all cheeses are soporific.

According to the Mayo Clinic, strong or aged cheeses such as cheddar, Gruyère, and Parmesan contain high amounts of the amino acid tyramine, which increases heart rate. “If you are looking for something creamy before bedtime, try some almond butter on a few crackers instead,” suggests Gabriel. Those foods contain magnesium, which research has found may help ease insomnia.

Even the humble tomato, despite its many health benefits, can be terrible for your sleep if eaten too close to bedtime.

“Acidic foods can irritate the stomach lining and elevate acidic pH levels in the body, triggering indigestion, heartburn, and acid reflux, all of which can interfere with sleep,” warns Gabriel. Despite their high levels of vitamin C, iron, and lycopene, per the USDA, tomatoes (including tomato-based foods such as juice and sauce) are considered highly acidic and should be avoided if you are prone to heartburn, reports MedlinePlus. Avoid anything tomato-based: sauces, juice, and, as mentioned, pizza.

Spicy foods can also cause acid reflux, says Taub-Dix. “Acid reflux is more likely to occur during sleep when we’re lying down, at which time a mix of stomach acid and foods being digested can flow back up through the esophagus. Many people find that eating spicy foods can cause this effect during the day, let alone at bedtime, when the negative impact can be compounded.”

If you are having spicy foods for dinner, wait three hours before going to bed to avoid worsening any potential acid reflux that might result from lying down. “This allows digestion to occur and the contents of your stomach to move into your small intestine,” Gabriel explains. “This may prevent problems like heartburn at night and even insomnia,” she says.

One study found that foods containing capsaicin, a compound responsible for spice’s heat, may interfere with sleep by elevating body temperature.

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The benefits of hydration notwithstanding, few things are as frustrating as when nature calls just as you’re starting to doze off. This scenario is not uncommon if you tend to drink a lot of water right before bedtime, and it increases the likelihood of sleep interruption. Be aware that some natural diuretics also lead to disrupted sleep. These include parsley, ginger, dandelion, hawthorn, and juniper, according to the Mayo Clinic. Take prescription diuretics earlier in the day.

“Although so many of us walk around tired, listless, and irritable because of mild dehydration without knowing it, the time to load up on liquids is not before bed,” says Gabriel. “Drinking too much can keep you up during the night because of the need to urinate often, thereby disrupting your rest.”

A nip of alcohol, a depressant, before bedtime may help you fall asleep faster, but it interferes with the quality of your slumber by reducing REM sleep and causing disruptions, according to the Sleep Foundation. Drinking too much alcohol can also lead to sleep apnea and heavy snoring.

“Alcohol disrupts breathing during sleep by relaxing the throat muscles. Alcohol can also reduce the brain’s ability to wake and detect a lack of oxygen in the body, and this can lead to longer and more frequent breathing pauses,” Gabriel says. “According to research, alcohol does allow healthy people to fall asleep quicker and sleep more deeply for a while, but it reduces rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. And the more you drink before bed, the more pronounced these effects.”