Have you ever wondered just why you can't fall asleep? Or have you ever woken up in the morning and thought to yourself 'well that was a weird dream'? Or even thought 'wow I slept well last night'! Well, crazy enough, it may have been because of the food you ate that night. Here are some examples and explanations:
Food Do's
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich:
This is a great food recommended by Psychology and Neuroscience professor Dr. Gary Wenk because it improves low blood sugar and helps you get a peaceful night's sleep. Dr. Wenk also explains that "Sleep is a very active process and your brain needs a lot of sugar. I actually recommend to people having a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before they go to bed: The bread and jelly are great sources of simple carbohydrates, which are terrible usually, but great for sleep."
Turkey/other tryptophan-rich foods
You know that feeling you get after Thanksgiving dinner, that full-belly drowsiness that makes you want to take a nap? Well it turns out that that isn't just some weird coincidence. According to Lily Feinn from Bustle, "The amino acid tryptophan is great for encouraging sleep and balancing mood. Our bodies do not make it, so instead we get it from foods such as eggs, soy, cheese, fish, nuts, and of course, turkey." So, it turns out that shoveling food into our mouths isn't the only benefit of Thanksgiving, it can also help you get a good night's sleep!
Food Don'ts
Steak/heavy or fatty foods:
First off, the environment around you can affect your sleep. According to Lily Feinn, "We generally sleep better when our environments are at lower temperatures, our bodies even cool down when we sleep to conserve energy. And the act of eating before bed can throw this body chemistry a bit off. Eating boosts metabolism and raises the body temperature, which can disturb your natural sleep pattern." Dr. Wenk also explains that "Dense, high-calorie energy sources-like cheese and meat-come with a lot of fat. What we've discovered is that when people do eat densely caloric foods, they tend to wake up hot. That will disrupt your sleep cycle."
Spicy foods:
Spicy foods are the most common type of food that people think of when they have a bad dream, and there's a reason why. Lily Feinn states in her article that spicy foods "Can cause indigestion that can lead to not-so-pleasant dreams. Spicy foods are constantly called out for disrupting sleep and leading to nightmares. Some even believe that eating a lot of spices, like nutmeg, can have psychoactive properties." The key word in that last sentence though was "a lot". Julia Sweeney from First We Feast asks, "But will a normal amount of nutmeg-a shaving atop a cookie, for example-trigger powerful dreaming?" The answer is: No. "You have to have enough, and you need to eat a collection of spices. Individually you can't blame an effect on a spice-unless you've eaten an extreme amount-but in aggregate, they may influence brain function," explains Dr. Wenk.
Citations: Feinn, Lily. “6 Foods That Can Affect Your Dreams & Sleep.” Bustle, Bustle, 22 Dec. 2017, www.bustle.com/articles/136513-6-foods-that-can-affect-your-dreams-sleep. Sweeney, Julia. “How Does Food Influence Our Dreams?” First We Feast, First We Feast, 20 Oct. 2016, firstwefeast.com/eat/2014/09/how-does-food-influence-our dreams.