Is your dinner keeping you awake?

It’s estimated that 41 million adults in the United States are awake when they should – or would rather – be sleeping. This problem is so critical the Center for Disease Control has listed insufficient sleep as a public health problem.

The problem of staying awake, getting less than 6 hours or less sleep every night, is a global one. This 2012 post from Harvard College Global Health Review indicates that the problem is not only global, but contributes to metabolic diseases.

In an interview about his new book, Why We Sleep, Matthew Walker makes this dramatic statement:

“No aspect of our biology is left unscathed by sleep deprivation. It sinks down into every possible nook and cranny.”

After years of study, Walker concludes the shorter you sleep, the shorter your life.

There’s no need to give in to despair – or to let that statement keep you awake at night. There are simple action steps we can take as individuals and as partners, parents, siblings, and friends. We begin by prioritizing sleep the the way we prioritize other healthy habits.

Begin by planning for sleep with The Bedtime Blueprint. You can download it HERE. It won’t tell you what to eat, but it will tell you when to eat, when to cut out caffeine and screen time, and by posting it in plain sight, it gives the message to you and those you love that sleep is important.

The basic message from sleep experts is consistently practicing healthy daytime habits results in consistent sleep and better health and wellbeing. What and when you eat is part of that equation.

There’s a big difference between eating to be alert during the day and eating foods that keep you awake at night. It’s not enough to eat foods that support sleep, we still need to cut out or time when we eat foods that keep us awake.

Number 1: Caffeine

Caffeine takes three to seven hours to be released from the body. If you want to play it safe, no caffeine after 3 PM if your lights out time is 10 PM. Be aware that caffeine is hidden in a lot of our food – and a lot of food sold to children. Some foods that contain caffeine are:

• Chocolate bars & hot chocolate Sodas – including sodas that are not cola colored & diet sodas
• Yogurt, ice cream, & frozen yogurt
• Flavored breakfast products including cereals & breakfast drinks
• Coffee, tea – including green tea
• Some medications

The Center for Science in the Public Interest has a list of food and drinks that contain caffeine with milligram counts here.

Number 2: Sugar

Eating late at night raises your blood sugar. Eating sugar late at night compounds that problem. Then you’re in for a vicious cycle of having your blood sugar too high or too low.

Number 3: Alcohol

Alcohol can have the same effect on your blood sugar cycle as sugar. Add to that it often causes heartburn or reflux. That’s because that extra glass of chardonnay relaxes the esophageal sphincter – a muscle which functions to keep acid down in your stomach and preventing it from rising to your throat.

Number 4: Fatty Foods

Fatty foods are difficult to digest. In addition to the reflux and heartburn described above, you won’t sleep easily or all-night long when you’re feeling bloated and uncomfortable.

Consider having that pepperoni pizza, loaded nachos, mozzarella sticks, and fried chicken in the late afternoon.

Other foods that can trigger heartburn and digestive problems:

• Peppermint

• Dried fruit

• Hot peppers and hot sauces

• Raw onions

• Tomatoes – fresh or in sauces

When it comes to eating for sleep, this blog post has a free download of foods that support sleep and don’t keep you awake.

You know the old weight loss adage? The one that goes “breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dine like a pauper”? It works for sleep as well. Less is more when it comes to your end-of-the-day meal. Then you’ll be in terrific shape for some indulgences now and then.