By Texsk
The record of issues we’re not alleged to do earlier than bedtime is getting longer on a regular basis. If the oldsters on the Nationwide Sleep Basis had their method, we might all spend the hours earlier than bedtime in a stress-free, dimly lit room with all types of digital stimuli turned off (airplane mode, not vibrate) [source: National Sleep Foundation]. However what about meals — is it dangerous to eat proper earlier than bedtime, too?
This is a fast evaluation of what occurs to meals as soon as you have swallowed it. It passes by means of the esophagus into the abdomen, the place it is floor into small particles in a cocktail of digestive juices [source: GI Kids]. Meals then spends the following few hours churning in bile because it makes its method by means of the 22 toes (almost 7 meters) of your small gut [source: Kids Health]. Equally nice actions happen within the giant gut.
The primary drawback with consuming earlier than bedtime is that it could trigger acid reflux disease. Merely being horizontal worsens acid reflux disease, which is why the situation can also be related to reclining to look at tv after an enormous meal [source: Koufman] Folks with bronchial asthma are particularly prone to sleep disturbances attributable to consuming earlier than mendacity down [source: Sontag].
Another excuse why eating late could be a sleep stealer is that many people pair our dinner with a drink, as is the behavior of roughly 30 p.c of People [source: Ingraham]. Whereas alcohol might initially assist carry on sleep, it can be the reason for waking up too early and different sleep issues [source: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism].
Some have proposed that consuming earlier than bedtime is a foul thought as a result of wealthy meals are by some means extra tempting at nighttime of night time and that persons are extra prone to overindulge later within the day. There may be additionally some assist for the concept that animals (together with people) are higher outfitted to metabolize energy when consumed earlier within the day. These are each essential issues for anybody attempting to drop a few pounds.
A distinction ought to made between consuming a heavy meal earlier than bedtime versus having a light-weight snack, which is far much less prone to trigger acid reflux disease. Furthermore, a small snack will stability blood sugar ranges all through the night time, which can provide help to sleep extra soundly.
