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Eating Before Bed: What, When and If You Should Do It

The busier you are, the harder it is to find time for eating and actually sitting down to have proper meals throughout the day. We’re used to being semi-hungry all through the day. And finally, we're only able to sit down and eat in the evening when we’re done with all the work we had to do in the day. And that’s how you end up eating before bed and eating a lot

As you know, our bodies aren’t made for getting most of the calories required in one sitting. Being hungry after a day of running around, it’s easy to forget it. And when you finally get your dinner and the snack afterward, you might be thinking, “is it bad to eat at night?”.

This article will answer this and other questions, such as what to eat before bed and how eating late at night affects your sleep. If you’d like to learn more about these subjects, keep on reading.

Caleb Backe

Certified Personal Trainer, Health & Wellness Expert

How eating before bed affects our sleep quality?

Eating big meals close to bedtime can affect your body’s wind-down processes before bed. Foods that interfere with sleep include high-sugar and high-processed foods. Not only do these foods affect your metabolism but also blood sugar levels, both of which have an effect on sleep quality.

Digestion

To answer “is it bad to eat before bed?” first of all, it’s important to understand how digestion works to learn how eating late at night affects it. It starts in the mouth: When you eat the food, you break it down and soften it by chewing as digestive enzymes start to release in the mouth.

Then, as food moves to the stomach and further down to the gastrointestinal tract and the intestines, more enzymes break down your meal. Some food molecules get absorbed into the body and what’s left gets packaged up as waste and passes through the colon.

When it comes to sleep and digestion, despite some myths, it doesn’t stop when you’re asleep. Your body is still capable of digesting food while you sleep. Although, like most of the other processes in your body, digestion slows down a little during the night time.

Pros of Eating Before Bed

When it comes to the “is it bad to eat at night?” question, the answer is - not necessarily! Actually, eating at night might do you good in some cases.

It’s Easier to Fall Asleep

Have you ever laid in bed not being able to fall asleep simply because your stomach was growling? You probably have. As you might’ve noticed it’s a lot harder to fall asleep when you’re hungry. You need to be relaxed in order to be able to fall asleep. It might leave you tossing and turning as you’re too busy worrying about food.

Eating before bed: woman falling asleep

Let’s say you haven’t eaten in a while but you still manage to fall asleep. It might seem like the problem is solved,  but it’s not. Your body can still react to hunger when you’re asleep. And it does, causing you to not be able to sleep deeply. This results in not feeling rested after sleep.

Having eaten you don’t have to deal with that anymore. Eating before bed, even if it’s just a little snack, can go along way when it comes to falling asleep and actually waking up rested.

Prevents Blood Sugar from Dropping at Night

Another positive aspect of eating before bed is maintaining your blood sugar levels. Blood sugar level is the concentration of glucose in the blood. Blood sugar is the main source of energy your body uses. ~20% of the blood sugar is used up by the brain while the rest is distributed to other cells and organs to function properly. It’s important to keep up the right blood sugar level to keep your body working properly.

Eating before bed: man having a snack

When your body realizes that the blood sugar had dropped it sends a hunger signal to the brain. Not eating before bed does just that. It happens after a period of fasting, especially if it’s prolonged, having not eaten before bed. It seems fine, as you can always eat breakfast when you get up, but it might distort your metabolism and eating habits.

If your blood sugar drops considerably, your body might panic. Then you’ll feel the urge to binge on everything you see. As you know, it’s not healthy to eat such large portions and it leads to overeating. Experiencing that often will surely lead to weight gain. That’s why it’s said that you’d better eat smaller portions of food more often than eat a few large meals.

And so eating before bed is sure to keep your blood sugar levels up that's beneficial to your health. Just make sure to not overeat on food that’s hard to digest.

Boost Metabolism and Help Muscle Growth

Furthermore, eating before bed boosts your metabolism. Those who want to lose weight must have read countless articles on metabolism and how it works, and they must’ve learned that it’s complicated. But what is known, is that the better your metabolism is, the easier you lose weight

In order to boost your metabolism, your body has to have something to metabolize. Small healthy snacks help that. Furthermore, muscle is built while you rest and protein is needed for that. Eating a snack that’s high in protein just before bed will help those processes in your body.

Your Body Needs Energy for Sleep

Another thing eating before bed provides us with is energy. We think of sleep as a rest period when we’re not doing anything, but there are many processes going on in our bodies while we sleep. Your subconsciousness still controls your breathing, heartbeat, digestion, muscle building and many more. Just like everything we do, that requires calories

Polyphasic sleep: woman sleeping

So, in order to help those processes, you need to eat enough calories. In case you haven’t eaten enough during the day, eating before bed to replenish the energy used in the daytime and save some for sleep would do no harm. 

Cons of Eating Before Bed

If you want to know is it bad to eat before bed, I can tell you that yes, it might be in some cases. There are quite a few positive outcomes of eating before bed, but there are also some negative effects it could have on you.

Acid reflux

One of them is acid reflux. Acid reflux is not quite a pleasant feeling. It occurs after eating before bed when your digestive juices travel up to your esophagus and that results in the uncomfortable heartburn. It might also induce vomiting, bloating, nausea or coughing.

When you eat right before bed and then go lie down, that happening becomes way more probable, simply because of your body digesting while in a position that’s the least suitable for that.

You can avoid that by not lying down directly after eating. Spend your time sitting in your bed relaxing. Another way to avoid that is to prop yourself up with some pillows. This way gravity does the work and your stomach acid juices don’t go up to your esophagus and cause you the uncomfortable sensations.

Interrupted sleep 

If you keep eating before bedtime you might develop the night eating disorder. It’s diagnosed when you eat at least a quarter of your daily calories after dinner. Getting used to snacking after dinner might make you wake up at night just to get a snack.

Also, eating this much at night results in you not being hungry in the morning and hungry at night again, making it a vicious cycle.

eating before bed: woman waking up at night

It also interrupts your sleep pattern. Waking up at night doesn’t do your sleep any good. Sleep being constantly interrupted decreases both the quality and quantity of it. As you must know, lack of sleep results in a lot of health issues and also affects your moods, making you feel fatigued and unwilling to do things you’d like to do.

Heavy meals might make you feel queasy 

As mentioned before, eating before bed, if it’s light snacks, can do you good. But what if your light snack ends up being a full second dinner equivalent? That might not do your sleep and your digestion any good. 

Feeling bloated and too full makes you feel uncomfortable. Heavy nighttime eating might also lead to indigestion. Indigestion comes with a set of uncomfortable symptoms like feeling too full, stomach pain and nausea. Those are all things you don’t want to experience.

Eating before bed: woman eating a burger

Especially, you don’t want them when you’re trying to fall asleep. What’s really important when you’re trying to sleep, is getting comfortable. All these feelings may prolong or even prevent you from getting the necessary snooze. You don’t want to miss out on sleep simply because of eating a little too much.

Foods to eat

Now you learned that eating before bed might not necessarily be such a bad thing, and the side effects can easily be prevented if eating isn’t overdone. Naturally, the next question is what’s the best food to eat if you’re eating late at night. Here’s a list of foods that are the best options when it comes to eating before bed.

Fish 

The main reason why fish is good for sleep is that it’s high in Vitamin B6. Vitamin B6 is responsible for the production of melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone, that’s responsible for regulating your sleep: making you sleepy and helping you wake up. The more Vitamin B6 you get, the easier melatonin will be produced and you’ll be able to fall asleep with no hassle.

Whole grains

Whole grains are rich in magnesium which is extremely important for falling and staying asleep. Try to incorporate some whole grain bread or crackers into your bedtime snacks to ease yourself into sleep more pleasantly. The more magnesium you get, the easier falling asleep will be.

Dairy

Your mom was right about the glass of warm milk before sleep. Dairy has a lot of calcium. Calcium is responsible for many things in our bodies and one of them is muscle relaxation. That’s exactly what you need before sleep. Furthermore, dairy is filling. Having dairy before sleep will lower the chances of getting up in the middle of the night feeling hungry.

Cherries

If you’re thinking about what to eat before bed, eat cherries! Oddly specific, I know. But cherries have been proven to help you fall asleep by inducing melatonin production. And they’re also tasty which is always a pleasant thing to fall asleep after. So get some cherries or cherry juice and get ready to doze off quickly.

Almonds

Another thing that answers the question of what to eat before bed is almonds. All nuts have plenty of healthy fats in them that are good for your health. Almonds specifically are known to be rich in magnesium and tryptophan. Both of them are great for a good night’s sleep since they help with muscle relaxation and nerve function.

Eating before bed: almonds

Being relaxed before sleep is essential for falling asleep easier. And using additional help from food to achieve that will do you good.  

Foods to avoid

There are some foods you'd better not eat if you want to sleep well.

Fatty food

Avoid fatty food, especially if it’s fried, before sleep. Fatty food is hard to digest and might leave you feeling bloated and uncomfortable just before sleep. To digest that a lot of stomach acid is needed and that raises the chances of getting acid reflux. Especially because you’re going to spend your time in a horizontal position, which makes getting acid reflux more probable.

Coffee

If you're wondering why coffe is bad for you before sleep, that could be answered in one word: caffeine. As you know caffeine, which coffee is high in, is a stimulant that helps you stay awake. That’s the complete opposite of what you want to achieve before going to bed. Caffeine stimulates your Central Nervous System and sends signals that you need to stay alert.

Eating before bed: coffee

Try to eliminate coffee completely in the evening so your sleeping isn’t troubled. In fact, make sure you’re not drinking other caffeinated beverages like most teas (except for herbal ones) and energy drinks

Conclusion

There is no straightforward answer to the “is it bad to eat before bed?” question. Yes, it might be, but it could also be beneficial. Eating before bed might help you fall asleep easier, prevent your blood sugar from dropping, which would result in being extremely hungry in the morning. It can also boost your metabolism, and give you the energy that sleep requires.

Although it might also cause acid reflux because of digestion in the horizontal position, or interrupt your sleep due to constant snacking instead of sleeping. It’s also easy to overeat and trouble your body with feeling bloated when trying to sleep.

If you decide that eating before bed is a necessity for you, opt for fish, whole grains, dairy, cherries or almonds. All these foods have beneficial components that improve your sleep quality. Make sure to avoid fatty foods that are hard to digest and coffee, that prevents you from falling asleep

So, if asked is it bad to eat at night, you could say that no, it’s not. Just do it in moderation to avoid possible problems caused by wrong foods or unnecessarily big amounts of them. That way you'll improve your sleep quality. If you’re curious about other aspects of possible sleep issues, check out our other sleep guides

Caleb Backe

Certified Personal Trainer, Health & Wellness Expert

Contributed By Caleb Backe, Certified Personal Trainer, Health & Wellness Expert

Caleb Backe's work with natural product development has given him insight and expertise in the health industry, as well as an attuned understanding of the wellness world. When Caleb is not developi...

Read Full Bio...

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Recent User Reviews

SLEEPING POSITIONS

I ALWAYS EAT BEFORE BED TIME BECAUSE I WORK FULL TIME AND BY THE TIME I FINISH COOKING IS 10 OR 11PM, I HAVE TRIED SLEEPING ON THE SIDE, ON MY STOMACH, ON MY BACK BUT I DUNNO WHAT WORKS BEST, ANY ADVICE?

WATCHING TV

I CAN RELATE TO THIS, I DON'T EAT DINNER TOO LATE. HOWEVER, WHEN I'M WATCHING TV I BRING SOME SNACKS AND I NEVER NOTICE THE AMOUNT, WHICH THEN LEAVES ME UNABLE TO SLEEP.

A great post

I've got gastritis and I find it very delicate to go without food for a long time but I like the snack alternatives

love yourself

only your body knows if it's good for you or no

My advice ❤️

I was reading this, and there is one food I love but that makes it super hard for me to go to bed: CHOCOLATE! I know right? How can chocolate do this to me? It has tons of caffeine, so yeah maybe leave the hot cocoa for the morning.?

Beer nights!

Lately I have been having some drinking nights but then I sleep poorly, maybe throwing there some nuts and almonds could help(?)

New information

Since I was a kid, whenever I eat a lot, I fall asleep fast! But now sometimes its nearly impossible! I don't know but it's probably the fatty meals you mention.

better in the dark

food tastes different when its late

not what I thought

I thought I shouldnt eat at all before going to bed, but I guess it may help me? good read

Yummy Snacks!

This is amazing! I will totally make cereal with almonds my new snack! Thanks

Better Zzz

Thinking my bed was the reason why I couldnt sleep, I changed it all! Bought a new mattress, new soft bedding, but god! Little did I know it was me drinking tea everynight was what kept me up. Check the caffeine in your drinks!

best part of the hard day

I eat very little during the whole day, I work till late evening, so I have no other choice just to eat before bed.

exhausted?

every day im like ¨tomorrow im gonna start my diet¨ but at night all i want to do is relax and eat in bed, i wanna stop because i feel trapped doing this due to bad habits.

Acid reflux?

Im sleeping so much better but still wake up with acid reflux, thank you for this article! I know now what things I should avoid.

Natural supplements

I like how you mention natural components like melatonin, very informative article.

rules

we have rules in my house, we do not eat after 7pm

Would try :D

Great advice when you can't sleep, I've got acid reflux but I'll try a lighter meal for sure :D

hungry at night!!

I hate being so hungry but I'm afraid I won't get any sleep.... I will try some milk and bread !

Nice article

I will definitely try the tips you provide :) cherries at night sounds amazing!

Miss my diet

Before I would eat once per day and have a few snacks, but since my new relationship I adjusted to two meals, one very big at night, and possible the reason why I cant sleep :(

FAQ

Can eating before bed be beneficial?

Yes, it can be. Smaller snacks help to prevent a growling stomach and this way they help you fall asleep. Also, you need energy for your body to restore itself while you sleep, so you should definitely make sure you have consumed enough calories. If you need any more help on how to fall asleep, check out our guide on how to fall asleep.

Does hunger before bed affect falling asleep?

Being hungry before sleep may prevent you from falling asleep. In order to avoid that make sure you have a snack before you sleep. It shouldn't be a large meal but a small snack can definitely help. Another thing that is necessary for your comfort before falling asleep is a good mattress. Check out our suggestions for some of the best mattresses.

What is a memory foam mattress?

Memory foam mattresses are created mostly from polyurethane and have additional chemicals added that increase its viscosity and density. It’s also often called “viscoelastic polyurethane foam”. In order to create the air movement and let your body “breath” while you sleep, it has open foam bubbles. Memory foam mattresses are created in a way to adapt to your body curves and to also recover their original shape after you get up. Therefore, this kind of top mattresses offer you the feeling as if is created specifically for you.

Do top rated mattresses offer a money-back guarantee? Is there a catch?

All of the top mattress brands offer a money-back guarantee. The free trial usually starts from 90 to 100 nights, and if you don’t like the mattress, you can simply give it back. The majority of best mattress providers will not only give your money back but will also come to get it for free. If the mattress provider is reputable, there won’t be any catch - everyone understands that you have to try the mattress before knowing if it fits you.

What is off-gassing? Is it poisonous?

Off-gassing refers to the odor which comes from a new mattress. It’s the process that happens when volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) leak out of the mattress foam into the air. Those chemicals include both human-made and natural components, including formaldehyde, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), benzene, trichloroethane, and perfluorocarbons. Top rated mattresses will have zero or very minimal off-gassing. Many of them are sent to the customer already after the off-gassing. Is it dangerous, though? Even though the smell can be unpleasant, there’s usually only a very small amount of chemicals that can do no harm to your health.

How long do top rated mattresses serve?

The durability of a mattress depends on the provider and the quality of the materials used. Usually, you get a 10-year warranty, which will be valid in case of any defects. Normally, mattresses will serve you from 7 to 10 years, or even longer. Thus, when you buy the best mattress, you should take it as a long-term investment.