What your food choices have to do with your sleep quality

Did you know that what you eat affects your sleep quality? Ever noticed how you feel sleepy after eating a meal high in fat or carbohydrate? Well, research shows that our food choices make an impact on how well we sleep. For example, eating a higher carbohydrate diet has shown to result in us falling asleep sooner and getting more REM sleep. This is the type of sleep that is the deepest and most restful. Fiber is part of the reason why this does the trick, so try to incorporate more veggies, beans, whole grains, nuts, and seeds to up your fiber intake.

Conversely, a high fat diet can lead to more interrupted sleep. Not that this means we need to follow a low fat diet to have good quality sleep, but moderation is key. Choose high fiber foods and definitely incorporate healthy fats as well. Some examples of healthy fats would be olive oil, avocado, nuts and seeds.

Also, consider how closely you’re eating to the time you are going to sleep. Are you eating and then hopping right in bed? Remember, digestion is an active process while sleeping is more passive. When we eat right before sleeping we are asking our bodies to digest and rest at the same time.Not happening. Well…at least not efficiently. Your body will have a hard time doing both optimally. There is really no set amount of time that you should wait before going to bed. This is quite individual so you can experiment a bit to see what works for you and monitor the type of sleep it produces for you. Happy resting!