Eating or sleeping?

Believe it or not, this Sunday (11th May) is Eat What You Want Day. No diets, no unnecessary vegetable accompaniments to a meal, Eat What You Want Day is set to celebrate the freedom and choice we have over what we consume. Though this is quite an exciting prospect for those that are making a conscious effort to eat healthily, the effects of eating exactly what you want are still going to show themselves – no matter what ‘day’ it is! These effects will, of course, include the obvious ramifications of eating things that aren’t healthy but don’t forget that indulging in certain foodstuffs can be damaging to your sleep, too. Here, we’re going to take a look at some of the lesser-known offenders that can cause sleeplessness – you might be surprised at what you find! Tomatoes Along with pork, cheese, wine, aubergines and potatoes, tomatoes are an unlikely candidate for keeping you up at night when really, you want to be asleep! BBC Food explains this is because “they are rich in an amino acid called tyramine, which the body converts to noradrenaline, a brain stimulant.” Ideally, you should avoid the above items at least three hours before you intend on sleeping – there are few things worse than lying in bed and not being able to doze off! In addition to the brain stimuli, eating any meal within three hours of sleeping isn’t the best idea as your body is focusing more on digestion, and you may find that you suffer from heartburn and indigestion as a result. Dark Chocolate There are few things more decadent than enjoying a lovely bit of dark chocolate with a glass of red wine in the evening, but aside from the wine that’s full of the aforementioned tyramine, the chocolate isn’t conducive to your sleep either. Though it does vary between brands, dark chocolate is home to a surprising amount of caffeine, and another stimulant called theobromine which has been known to increase the heart rate. Ice Cream A glass of milk before bed is great for encouraging the sleep-inducing amino acid tryptophan, but unfortunately, the benefits of milk don’t translate well into the delicious dairy treat that is a big bowl of ice cream. The amount of fat present in ice cream means that it gets digested at a slower rate, and the sugar won’t aid the notion of sleep either. Eating or Sleeping?