How to Improve Your Sleep with Better Nutrition

By Diego Z. Carvalho, MD

The relationship between nutrition and sleep is far from being completely clarified. However, the available scientific evidence supports a few tips that can improve your sleep.

1) Cut down on coffee and caffeinated products (soft drinks, tea, chocolate); and restrict them to the morning. Caffeine has stimulating effects and can make it difficult to fall asleep. For those who can sleep after a cup of coffee, it can lead to reduced sleep duration, more awakenings, reduced deep sleep, and worsened subjective sleep quality. Caffeine doses equivalent to two 8oz cups of coffee in the morning have been shown to reduce deep sleep at night.

2) Reduce or eliminate alcoholic beverages before bedtime. Although alcohol has sedative properties and can make you sleep more quickly, it comes at a high cost. In the second half of the night, you are more likely to experience increased sleep disruption with more awakenings and less deep sleep, which can make you feel less refreshed in the morning. Alcohol can also give rise to or worsen obstructive sleep apnea and reduce your oxygen levels at night.

3) Swap out sugary and starchy foods, for vegetables and fruits. A high glycemic index diet, which is associated with foods with high amount of simple carbohydrates such as potatoes, white rice and white bread, can quickly increase blood sugar. Although high glycemic meals were shown to help healthy volunteers fall asleep in experimental conditions, higher intakes of dietary added sugars, starch, and nonwhole/refined grains have been associated with a higher risk of developing insomnia over time. By contrast, higher non-juice fruit and vegetable intakes were significantly associated with lower chances of developing insomnia.

4) Eat more fiber and less saturated fats. Avoid food choices with high amount of saturated fat (butter, red meat, chicken skin, whole dairy products) and focus on eating more fibers. An experimental study has found that higher percentage of energy from saturated fat was associated with more arousals and less deep sleep while greater fiber intake was associated with more deep sleep.

5) Avoid heavy meals prior to bedtime. Eating a large amount before bed can delay your sleep onset time and cause more awakenings. On the other hand, significant food restriction can cause more difficulty falling asleep and reduce the amount of deep sleep

*Citations available on healthiersleepmag.com

Dr. Carvalho is with the Center for Sleep Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

Nutrition-Rich Meals by Chuan Spa

Chuan Spa, our award-winning spa and wellness brand at Langham Hospitality Group, takes a holistic approach to wellness, offering services designed to nurture, balance and restore.

Chuan Spa is delighted to bring you a selection of healthy dishes in our hotel in-room dining menu curated to revitalise and energise for guests to extend their wellness journey into their hotel room. These dishes have been specially created in conjunction with nutritionist Miles Price, a member of the British Association of Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine, and are identified by the Chuan Spa logo.