Let the hungry stomach go to bed less harm than eat too full
Going to bed with hunger can interrupt sleep because when blood sugar is too low at night, the body will signal awake to find food.However, if during the day, people have met the nutritional needs of the body, going to bed with hunger is not harmful to health, even better than eating too full and too close to bedtime.
According to Verywellhealth, eating a full meal before going to bed can come with many consequences because after eating, the body takes a few hours to digest food and this process is much more difficult when lying down.Not only that, lying down immediately after eating makes the stomach easily reflux, leading to heartburn at night, uncomfortable burning sensation in the chest and other symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease.
Eating activity promotes insulin release, a hormone that helps the body use food to create energy.This process can change the biological rhythm of the body by signaling the brain awake and hindering the ability to fall asleep.
A study published in the Journal of Medicine on Clinical Sleep has found a close relationship between late eating and poor quality sleep.People who eat late are also more likely to suffer from serious sleep apnea.
The researchers also found the relationship between late meal time and weight gain.In addition, health risks when regularly eating late at night include obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
How to eat well, good for health?
Nutrition experts recommend that people eat about 3 hours before going to bed.For example, if you go to bed at 9 pm, eat the last meal at 6 o'clock and can choose a snack before turning off the light.After dinner, it is best to rest 1 to 2 hours before going to bed to avoid the risk of gastroesophageal reflux.
Some foods that contain more melatonin help sleep better including cherry, strawberries, kiwi, mushrooms, seeds, especially walnuts and almonds.Snacks late at night can be foods containing tryptophan amino acids such as turkey, fish, eggs, whole milk to help activate serotonin hormone in the body to sleep deeper.Small amounts of bread, biscuits made from whole grains can also be a choice for snacks.
A 2015 study in Nutrients magazine showed that eating a small meal (150 calories or less) before bedtime was beneficial for metabolism, muscle tissue regeneration.So you should only eat a small amount of food to not feel too full, full of abdomen, sleep better but still good for health.
Besides, avoid foods that can cause heartburn such as spicy food, acidic such as citrus, tomatoes, chocolate, spicy peppermint.If choosing foods with spice or grease, it also makes fat easy to accumulate, causing fatty liver because the metabolism of the human body slowed down at night.Coffee, tea, soda, energy drinks are also caffeine drinks that make it difficult to sleep and urinate at night, causing sleep interrupting.