This is our first blog post on our new blog. We are starting a blog series where we post a sleep tip a week to help you and your family get a better nights sleep.
Tip #1: Dinner Time
Have dinner at a reasonable time. There should be a few hours in between dinner and bedtime. There are three problems with eating a heavy meal right before bedtime.
Problem 1:
You feel sick. Lying down after consuming a big meal makes you more likely to get reflux. Reflux (acid in your stomach rising into your esophagus) can cause heartburn. Not only will if feel like you have a ton of bricks in your stomach, you will feel like your chest is on fire. That’s not fun, ever.
Problem 2:
Your body is working hard, when it should be slowing down and resting in preparation to sleep. With all that food in your stomach, your body is trying to digest it and get rid of it.
Problem 3:
Your sleep just isn’t as good. A study conducted in Australia showed that those who ate a heavy meal right before bedtime didn’t get as much heavy sleep because they tossed and turned all night.
Bottom line:
Eating dinner 3 hours before bedtime will give the body enough time to digest the food and prevent these symptoms from occurring. Now you can sleep like a baby.
