Tell me what you eat and I will tell you how you sleep. For fans of a healthy lifestyle, it is more common to associate what is best to eat at night with its effect on weight. However, waking up feeling tired and heavy also has a lot to do with your choices about what you eat before bed. A positive charge and a feeling of vigor will become part of the morning after answering simple questions. What is good to eat before bed? What can you drink at night?
- Do you need snacks?
- What food is prohibited at night?
- What foods are good before bed?
- What drinks are recommended in the evening?
Cherry juice
Cherries contain metatonin (Photo: pixabay.com)
Natural cherry juice contains plant melatonin. This substance is similar in structure to the hormone melatonin, which in our body is responsible for regulating sleep and wakefulness cycles. Drinking a glass of cherry juice an hour before bed will increase the concentration of melatonin in your blood, which will help you fall asleep faster.
Choose natural cherry juice rather than nectar. The latter contains too much sugar and very few valuable substances.
Reminder about the best time to drink water and general recommendations
You need to drink water before going to bed, but in small quantities and strictly at the right time. To avoid waking up in the morning with bags under your eyes or swollen fingers, you need to do this 40 minutes before bed. It is important to drink water immediately after waking up to jump-start your body.
General recommendations for drinking water:
- The volume of water is no more than a glass.
- Drink slowly, in small sips, which will help the kidneys function normally.
- Do not drink cold liquid, as this has a negative effect on metabolism and can cause a sore throat.
- Hot water damages tooth enamel and can injure the mucous membrane of the throat and esophagus. Even the rapid dissolution of honey in it leads to the fact that it loses its beneficial properties.
- You should drink a glass of warm water both before and after bedtime. Room temperature is acceptable.
- Each body is individual, therefore the amount of fluid per day is individual; it must be selected through experiments, finding out how much is needed specifically for you.
A person cannot live without water, and it cannot be replaced with other drinks. Perhaps a couple of glasses of clean water a day will be the norm for some, but for others two liters is not enough. It is important to maintain balance in everything so that all work in the body is correct and balanced. And water is no exception.
Chamomile tea
Chamomile tea will help you relax (Photo: pixabay.com)
Chamomile flower tea is a natural sedative that does not contain caffeine. But it is rich in biologically active substances that have an antispasmodic effect. Thanks to this, it relieves nervous and muscle tension, perfectly relaxes and normalizes sleep.
Add a few lavender flowers to your chamomile tea. The luxurious aroma will turn drinking tea shortly before bed into a real pleasure.
Kefir or yogurt
A glass of natural yogurt is a good choice before bed (Photo: pixabay.com)
If you can't sleep because you're hungry, drink a glass of kefir or yogurt before bed. They contain protein that will keep you feeling full throughout the night. Tryptophan is also a substance from which our bodies produce the hormones serotonin and melatonin.
These hormones are responsible for relaxing the nervous system and inducing sleep. So, by drinking a glass of fermented milk drink, you will kill two birds with one stone: you will get rid of hunger and you will be able to fall asleep faster.
Benefits of drinking fluids before bed
Drinking a glass of liquid before bed can benefit your body. The advantages of this habit include the following areas of influence:
- Replenishing moisture reserves, normalizing hydration levels. Water is the main component of all tissues, and if you do not drink in the required quantities, the risks of dehydration and disruption of internal organs will increase.
- Satisfying hunger. Eating at night is not recommended not only because of the risks of weight gain, but also because of the likelihood of sleep disturbances. A glass of liquid will fill your stomach, create the impression of satiety and help you fall asleep faster without thinking about food.
- Removing toxins. Together with urine, into which the liquid consumed by a person is converted, toxic and waste substances are removed from the body, and the tissues are cleansed.
- Stabilization of metabolism. The rate of metabolism largely depends on the hydration of tissues: in cells deprived of moisture and with a lack of water, metabolic processes proceed more slowly, sometimes with disturbances.
- Improving the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. If you drink a little before bed and choose a liquid that is beneficial for the digestive organs, the acidity in the stomach will not increase, the gastrointestinal tract will function in a gentle manner and recover without being overloaded.
Green tea
Brew green tea a couple of hours before bed (Photo: pixabay.com)
This drink should not be drunk immediately before bed. After all, tea is a liquid, and any liquid will make you wake up at night to go to the toilet. You should drink green tea a couple of hours before bedtime, for example, after dinner. Then the drink will have a relaxing effect and help you fall asleep.
Green tea contains the amino acid theanine. It relaxes the nervous system and improves sleep. The effect of theanine is long-lasting, beginning within an hour after drinking the drink and lasting up to eight hours. By the way, thanks to theanine, green tea containing caffeine does not have such a pronounced invigorating effect as coffee.
What should you give up at night?
What should you not drink at night?
Drinks from the list below:
- Alcohol. Although many people believe that alcohol helps you relax and fall asleep, this opinion is wrong. Ethyl alcohol poisons brain cells, excites the nervous system, disrupts sleep, promotes intoxication of the body, and disrupts biological rhythms. You'll probably fall asleep, but your rest will be shallow and you'll wake up feeling groggy and with a headache.
- Coffee. The drink contains caffeine, which increases the heart rate and stimulates the central nervous system. It is better to drink coffee in the morning when you need to cheer up.
- Strong black tea is also a source of caffeine, so it is not recommended for drinking at night.
- Green tea. It also contains caffeine, although in smaller quantities than coffee. But it is better to avoid drinking strong green tea before bed.
- Sweet soda. Gases negatively affect the digestive organs, and “horse doses” of sugar sharply increase glucose levels: it does not have time to be processed, harming a person.
Knowing what you can drink before bed can help you choose the right drinks, fall asleep faster, and sleep better.
Tea with mint
Peppermint tea soothes and relaxes (Photo: pixabay.com)
Peppermint contains essential oil with a high concentration of menthol. This substance has a relaxing and calming effect. A drink made from mint leaves will improve sleep and help shake off the burden of problems in the evening.
Men should not get carried away with drinks with the addition of mint, as the plant has a negative effect on potency.
What should you not eat before bed?
Let's immediately cross out the products that spoil your sleep and figure at the same time. Snacks and light dinners are welcome, but when choosing what to eat at night, beware of the following foods:
1. Salty.
You can use seasoning within reasonable limits, but you shouldn’t get carried away. Excess salt will cause fluid retention and swelling in the morning. This seasoning, like all spicy ones, whets the appetite, so it is not recommended to get carried away with enhancing the taste of evening dishes. It is better to eat bland food at night.
2.Sweet and flour.
The well-known problem with excess fast carbohydrates makes this food dangerous for the waist. When thinking about what you can eat at night, gather your willpower and refuse the tempting quick satiety for the sake of a slim figure. Take the time to prepare an easy and healthy dinner.
3. Fatty foods.
The attractive taste properties of these dishes are offset by sky-high cholesterol. Even in the daytime it is difficult to cope with it, but in the evening the body relaxes, and all excess is stored away. The rate of falling asleep also slows down, the quality of sleep deteriorates, and the likelihood of stomach upset, on the contrary, increases.
What should you not do at night? Fat burgers. What can you eat before bed? Light and nutritious foods.
4.Alcohol
High-calorie drinks that increase appetite are a poor choice for what to drink in the evening. Drinks and snacks tend to go around in circles, bringing the number of calories to a critical level. REM sleep cycles, which are responsible for restoring strength, are disrupted. Long-term alcohol consumption disrupts circadian rhythms and causes insomnia.
5.Caffeine.
The group of dangerous preferences for snacking at night includes not only coffee. A product with a similar side effect that causes a feeling of alertness and prevents you from falling asleep is chocolate. Excessive stimulation of the body before bedtime is completely unnecessary; leave the energy shake-up for the morning. For a similar reason, it is better to avoid black and green tea.
What's best to eat at night? Definitely none of the foods and drinks listed above. The benefits for your figure and sleep are absolutely impossible, and the harm is obvious.
What can you snack on at night?
There is no point in dying of hunger, and it is not recommended to indulge in sweet, fatty, and salty foods. When thinking about what is best to eat at night, follow simple rules: food should be filling, easy to digest, and conducive to falling asleep quickly. Here is a list of what you can eat before bed.
Banana cocktail
A banana cocktail is good for the heart and nerves (Photo: pixabay.com)
This drink will satisfy your hunger before bed and speed up falling asleep. It’s easy to prepare: blend a banana with half a glass of milk in a blender. You can add a few almond kernels.
Banana smoothie contains potassium and magnesium. These minerals relax the heart, lower blood pressure and reduce muscle tension. Milk is a source of tryptophan, which promotes the production of the sleep hormone melatonin.
Remedies for a restful sleep
Drinks that improve sleep have a gentle and natural effect. They promote the production of the sleep hormone or deliver melatonin to the body, also calm the nervous system, relieve tension and excitement.
Let's consider what to drink for sound and healthy sleep and get acquainted with the features of the products.
- Fresh cherry.
Freshly squeezed cherry juice is a real storehouse of melatonin. This hormone regulates sleep-wake cycles, but sometimes the body produces it in too small doses. To “tune” your biological clock to the schedule that you need, you need to drink fresh cherry in the morning or half an hour before going to bed. Single dose – one glass.
You can add vanilla extract to the drink, but using sugar is strictly prohibited, as it has a stimulating effect on the nervous system.
- Chamomile-lavender tea.
Chamomile and lavender individually have excellent sedative properties, and in tandem they are a real salvation from insomnia. Tea made from these plants will help you relax, relieve tension, and overcome stress.
To prepare the product, you need to take one teaspoon each of dried lavender and chamomile flowers, and we also need a glass of warm boiled water. Pour boiling water over the mixture of herbs and leave for 10 minutes, then strain through cheesecloth. If desired, you can add warm milk and honey to the drink, this will only enhance its properties.
- Natural yogurt.
Natural yogurt contains tryptophan, a substance that is necessary for the production of melatonin. Scientists have proven that our body absorbs tryptophan from yoghurt almost in full.
If you want to fall asleep quickly, 45 minutes before your night's rest, eat a few spoons of fermented milk product. It is advisable that it be without fillers and sweeteners, otherwise, it should be taken one and a half hours before bedtime.
- Green tea.
Natural green tea is rich in theanine, an amino acid that actively fights stress and helps you fall asleep quickly. However, be careful, green tea often also contains large amounts of caffeine, which has a stimulating effect on the nervous system.
Only decaffeinated tea is suitable for taking before bed; information about the presence or absence of caffeine can be found on the packaging.
- A glass of warm milk.
We all know from childhood that warm milk is a good remedy for insomnia. This simple recipe works thanks to the presence of tryptophan in the drink - the same amino acid that relieves nervous tension, eliminates stress and speeds up falling asleep.
It is important that the milk is not boiled, but warm; after heat treatment, the substance necessary for sleep disappears.
- Chamomile tea.
Chamomile flowers have sedative properties. They can save even from severe irritation, depression, and moral fatigue. This effect is given by apigenin, a flavonoid that has a beneficial effect on the nervous system.
It is best to drink chamomile tea 1-2 hours before going to bed, otherwise you will wake up to go to the toilet.
- Banana almond smoothie.
A tasty and healthy remedy can be prepared from one banana, a tablespoon of almond paste or a handful of unroasted almonds and half a glass of fresh milk. Mix all ingredients in a blender. We drink a smoothie before bed.
The drink is rich in potassium and magnesium - these are minerals that give muscle relaxation. Milk promotes the production of melatonin, so the cocktail will help you fall asleep quickly.
- Almonds and milk.
Almonds are rich in protein and magnesium; when paired, these substances can lower blood sugar levels, which helps calm the nervous system. By eating a handful of nuts with a glass of warm milk an hour before bed, you can get rid of stress, calm an excited mind, overcome fatigue and rest peacefully at night.
- Coconut water.
Natural coconut water is rich in potassium and magnesium - these minerals are responsible for muscle relaxation. It also contains B vitamins, which relieve excessive tension in the nervous system, calm it, and speed up sleep. By drinking half a glass of the product before bed, you can quickly plunge into the arms of Morpheus.
Tea with lemon balm
Melissa is a recognized medicinal plant with a sedative effect (Photo: pixabay.com)
Melissa essential oil has pronounced sedative properties, and for this purpose the medicinal plant is used in official medicine. Substances in lemon balm reduce nervous excitement, relieve anxiety and suppress depression. The effect of lemon balm is cumulative: drink tea from the leaves of the medicinal plant regularly in the afternoon.
Protein shake - a balanced meal in a glass
We have already said that in the evening you need to give preference to protein foods. A protein shake is one of those. According to Rospotrebnadzor, 8 out of 10 people experience a lack of this substance in their diet, so a protein shake will come in handy - it will satisfy your hunger for several hours, fill you with deficient protein, and will not harm your figure. And some of them contain other valuable elements. For example, a serving of a cocktail from Herbalife: Protein shake Formula 1 Cream Cookies contains 17 g of protein, 23 vitamins and minerals - 50% of the daily value, as well as dietary fiber and only 200 kcal![1]. If you prepare it with 250 ml of milk with 1.5% fat content, then there will be only 200 kcal per serving, and you will get a balanced and low-calorie meal with a delicate and rich creamy taste. It can be consumed not only in the evening, but during the day and at work or school.
Tip: Protein shakes are a good post-workout meal because they give your muscles the protein they need to recover from exercise without overloading your body with calories.
