Foods that can stop you getting a goodnights sleep.

Not getting a goodnight’s sleep? Some people will blame it on something spiritual and say it’s the devil or their  mother’s sister’s brother’s daughter’s son somewhere calling out their name somewhere. But in actual fact it could just be their dinner. these are some foods that can affect your sleep:

1.Spice – Mainly chilli pepper aka ata rodo aka scotch bonnet aka aye mashe. This is because it contains something called capsaicin which can affect your sleep as it can increase your body temperature and disturb your sleep. It can also give you crazy dreams (not crazy good) and give you indigestion. So stir clear of hot spicy food at dinner.

2.Fruit juice – I find that when I have a glass of juice, especially orange juice before bed it really messes up my sleep. I find this more so when I am pregnant. This is because fruit juices are acidic and can cause heartburn. They also contain a lot of simple sugars with little or no fibre, this will cause a spike in sugar in your system and then a sugar crash which will disturb your sleep.

3.Red meat – Protein takes a lot of energy to digest and breakdown. So if you eat lots of meat before bed, chances are you will lie in bed awake because your body will go into extensive digestion mode to breakdown the protein. So again limit your meat consumption to lunchtime.

4. Chocolate – you might not know it but chocolate contains caffeine, the same thing in coffee that keeps you awake. Milk chocolate and dark chocolate also contain other stimulants including tyrosine and theobromine which will cause an increase in heart rate (not enough to cause you health problems but enough to stop you having a good nights sleep) if you have to eat chocolate before bed then go for white chocolate as it doesn’t contain any stimulants.

5.Tomato – as Nigerians we are very partial to our tomato stew but the tomato might just be the cause of your unfulfilling sleep.This is because tomato is very acidic which can cause indigestion, especially the way we cook it with spices. Also the tomato can cause the body to release tyramine which can cause an increase in brain activity and interrupt your sleep. Try not eating tomato stew for a while and see how you feel.