One of the greatest expenditures of energy in the body is from digestion of food. Large amounts of blood flow are directed toward the digestive system after a large meal. This means less blood flow, thus less energy, available for the brain. Low blood flow in the brain during sleep means poor sleep quality, since the brain conducts all sleep processes. So eat light in the evening.
EAT LIGHT IN THE EVENING EAT A SMALL PRE-BEDTIME SNACK
An overhauled digestive system is bad. But a small amount of energy in your system might improve sleep. Eat a 150 calorie snack before bedtime. Nothing artificial. Preferably no sugar or carbohydrates, unless you need aid in falling asleep. A spoonful of slow-digesting, omega-3 rich flaxseed oil is a good choice. It will be easily and slowly digested and provide energy for your body throughout the night.
DRINK CAFFEINE IN THE MORNING, NOT AT NIGHT
Caffeine in the system reduces the amount of deep sleep that occurs at night. You will wake up feeling less refreshed, and over time your body will want/require more time in bed to compensate for the poor sleep quality. You’ll have less energy, which you would fight with more caffeine. Don’t fall into this cycle.
Caffeine is safe and perhaps has decent health benefits. The key is in the timing. The safest time is in the morning, right when you wake up. The caffeine will be flushed from your system by the time you have a nap in the afternoon. By then you can have more caffeine immediately before or after the nap.
Caffeine 6 hours before bedtime will disrupt sleep.
EAT BREAKFAST
Eat breakfast within 1 hour of waking up. This does 2 things.
1. It regulates your hormonal rhythms (e.g. cortisol rhythm).
2. It acts as a zeitgeber. Just like sunlight, it will reset your body clock. Ensures that your sleep schedule is properly synced with your body clock.
It will give you more energy throughout the day and better sleep the following night.
Experiment with different foods. I prefer a smaller breakfast. Brown rice, eggs, spinach. Sometimes just a fruit smoothie (bananas, water, frozen blueberries, frozen spinach).
CONTROL YOUR CORTISOL
Levels of cortisol, the "stress hormone," spike in the morning and decrease throughout the day. Cortisol levels should be as low as possible when you go to bed. High cortisol levels during sleep drastically decrease slow-wave sleep (SWS) amount, meaning you won’t wake up refreshed.
Facilitate the natural decrease in cortisol levels by :
1. Eating breakfast in the morning
2. Eating low glycemic index meals instead of high GI meals.
3. Don’t go 5 hours without food.
4. Don’t skip meals, but don’t eat heavy meals either.
Follow these rules and cortisol will decrease, your sleep quality will improve, daily energy will improve, sleep need will reduce
AVOID FOODS THAT YOU MAY BE SENSITIVE TO
It is estimated that 70% of the population is lactose intolerant (dairy). 33% have yeast sensitivity. 15% have gluten sensitivity (wheat). And 35% have fructose or sugar sensitivity.
In other words, you probably have one of these sensitivities. And these dietary intolerances are tragically under-diagnosed. So statistically speaking, you probably have one but don’t know it. This can be very bad. Gluten sensitive people, for example, may develop major health issues later in life like multiple sclerosis if they continue to eat wheat. Your body destroys itself when exposed to food it can’t digest.
In terms of sleep, it’s important to eliminate or minimize ingestion of sensitive food products, especially close to bed time. Wheat and dairy products in particular greatly disrupt sleep in sensitive people.
Your digestive system will be forced to work in overhaul, disrupting the sleep process and using blood flow during sleep when it’s better spent on the brain.
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