8 Foods and Beverages to Avoid for Better Sleep
It's true: certain foods and drinks trigger digestion issues, temperature changes or nervous system stimulation that can make falling and staying asleep more difficult. By understanding which foods to skip in the hours before bedtime, you can create a sleep-friendly evening routine. Avoiding these foods and drinks will help you fall asleep faster, enjoy deeper rest and wake up feeling refreshed. Keep reading to learn about foods and beverages to avoid for better sleep.
1. Caffeine-rich Foods and Drinks
Caffeine blocks the production of adenosine, a neurotransmitter that promotes drowsiness. Found in coffee, energy drinks, tea, chocolate and some soft drinks, caffeine can stay in your system for up to six hours. Consuming it in the afternoon or evening delays your body’s natural wind-down, making it harder to fall asleep and reducing total sleep time.
2. Spicy Dinners
Spicy peppers, hot sauces and heavily seasoned meals can trigger heartburn and indigestion. Lying down with a burning sensation in your chest or stomach discomfort makes it tough to drift off. Spicy foods also raise your core temperature, which tells your brain to stay alert instead of initiating sleep processes.
3. Fatty and Fried Fare
Meals rich in unhealthy fats—like fried chicken, French fries and mozzarella sticks—take longer to digest. This extended digestion can lead to acid reflux and nocturnal discomfort. When your stomach works overtime, your sleep cycles shorten and you spend less time in deep, restorative sleep stages.
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4. Sugar-loaded Desserts
Cookies, cakes and candies cause rapid blood sugar spikes that leave you jittery and awake. Soon after, a crash in blood sugar can wake you in the middle of the night. High sugar intake also disrupts the balance of hormones like insulin and cortisol, which can negatively impact both sleep onset and sleep quality.
5. Acidic Foods and Citrus Fruits
Tomatoes, oranges, grapefruits and vinegar-based dressings are highly acidic. For those prone to acid reflux, these foods can irritate the esophagus while lying down, leading to heartburn and interrupted sleep. The discomfort from acid backflow often prompts restless tossing and waking up early.
6. Large, Heavy Meals
Eating a big dinner close to bedtime forces your digestive system to stay active when it should be winding down. The extra effort needed to process a large meal raises your metabolism and can keep you awake. Bloating and fullness further prevent comfortable sleep positions, making restful sleep elusive.
7. High-sodium Snacks
Salty chips, pretzels and processed crackers are loaded with sodium, which promotes fluid retention and nighttime thirst. Dehydration signals can trigger wakefulness, and frequent trips to the bathroom disrupt sleep cycles. Excess sodium also increases blood pressure, which can interfere with relaxation.
8. Alcoholic Beverages
While alcohol may make you feel drowsy at first, it disrupts your sleep. It reduces rapid eye movement (REM) and deep sleep, leading to lighter, fragmented rest. As alcohol wears off, you may experience rebound awakenings, night sweats or vivid dreams that prevent restorative sleep.
Sleep-friendly Alternatives
If you want some help falling and staying asleep, try adding these foods and drinks to your diet:
- Herbal teas like chamomile or peppermint.
- Warm milk with a dash of cinnamon.
- Light, complex-carbohydrate snacks like whole-grain toast or oatmeal.
- Cherries (which contain natural melatonin), bananas or pears.
- Lean proteins.
- Unsalted nuts in small portions.
- Steamed vegetables like carrots, zucchini or spinach.
- Greek yogurt with a drizzle of honey for protein and probiotics.
- Warm, low-sodium broth or bone broth with a pinch of herbs.
Knowing the foods and beverages to avoid for better sleep will help you take your rest into your own hands. By making simple adjustments to your diet, you'll feel more relaxed and energized.