Health Tip: Your Diet and Sleep

What you eat can affect your rest

Posted 3/10/08

(HealthDay News) -- If you've noticed that you feel particularly sleepy or more energized after eating certain foods, that's because what you eat can have an impact on how well you sleep and how awake you are during the day.

Here are examples of foods that can affect your sleep, courtesy of the National Sleep Foundation:

Carbohydrate-rich foods, such as pastas and breads, can make you more sleepy.
Carbohydrates work well with proteins to induce sleepiness, which makes combinations such as peanut butter on toast, cereal with milk, or cheese and crackers good bedtime snacks.
A large meal can make you more tired, especially one with a lot of carbohydrates.
Caffeine in foods and beverages is a stimulant that blocks hormones in the brain that make you feel sleepy.
While alcohol may help you relax and fall asleep in the short term, over the course of the night it inhibits the sleep process and can prevent you from getting deep, restful sleep.