When we're struggling to sleep, it's easy to start looking for something to add.
A new pillow, change the mattress, a sleep supplement or another type of magnesium. There are absolutely times when nutritional and herbal support change the game for my client, but sometimes I think we overlook something much simpler.
What is happening with your food in the last few hours before bed?
We tend to think about sleep as something that starts when we turn the lights off, but your body has been preparing for sleep for hours before that. What you eat, when you eat and how your digestive system is functioning can all be part of that preparation.
Your body needs to know that it is time to sleep
I like to think of the gut as constantly asking the question, "What time is it?"
Your body has an internal timing system that helps coordinate sleep, digestion, and metabolism throughout the day. Your digestive function and gut microbiome are also influenced by these daily rhythms. Yes, even your bacteria have a circadian rhythm.
As evening approaches, your body gradually moves towards a different physiological state. Your hormonal signals are changing from the alert state they were in driving early in the day to a winding-down state for recovery and sleep.
This is one reason why eating a large meal or having a substantial snack very late at night may not be ideal for everyone. If you are still asking your digestive system to process food when your body is also trying to transition into sleep, you’re giving it conflicting signals. And even your microbiome is confused.
Late night eating can interfere with sleep
Think about what your evening normally looks like.
Maybe dinner is at 6pm and you're finished eating for the night by 6.30, maybe just a herbal tea at the end of the evening. But maybe not, if dinner is later, followed by a snack while watching television, and then something else because you're still awake at 10pm, those signals are very different.
For some people, that late night eating may change nothing. Those lucky ones can thrash their routine and still sleep like a log. But if you're struggling with sleep, it is worth paying attention to the timing of your last meal and snack.
I don't mean you need to follow a rigid rule about exactly what time you should stop eating. Life is not always that predictable. Shift work, children, social events and busy evenings are very real variables that can change when we eat.
Instead, I think it's more useful to notice whether late or heavy eating is becoming a regular part of your evening and whether you feel better when you finish eating earlier.
Your gut and your sleep are connected
We already know there is a close relationship between the gut and the brain, and that the gut microbiome is influenced by our daily rhythms.
The bacteria living in your digestive tract don't simply operate independently of everything else happening in your body. Their activity is influenced by factors including what you eat and when that food is reaching the digestive system.
I find the relationship between food timing, the gut microbiome and sleep fascinating. Our bodies are constantly taking in information about the environment around us. Light, activity, food and the timing of meals all help provide information about where we are in the day, and what to expect next.
When you're regularly eating food very late at night, you’re effectively telling your body it’s still early in the day, there is still activity to come, don’t switch off just yet.
What about reflux?
For some people, the connection between late night eating and poor sleep is particularly obvious because as soon as they get horizontal they experience reflux.
If you eat close to bedtime and then lie down without a propped up pillow, your digestive system is dealing with a meal while your body is horizontal. For people who are prone to reflux, the pressure on their lower oesophageal sphincter is too much. This can make symptoms more likely to happen while they’re sleeping, and likely wake them up.
You may notice burning, discomfort, regurgitation or simply that you don't feel comfortable lying down after eating. And once you're uncomfortable, getting into a deep and settled sleep becomes much harder.
If you already know that eating late triggers your reflux, this is a particularly useful place to start. Rather than immediately looking for another supplement, look at the timing and size of your evening meal and give your digestive system 2-3 hours before you lie down.
Could blood sugar affect your sleep?
Another area I am looking at in clinic when someone has a history of sleep dysregulation is what the end of the day looks like from a blood sugar perspective.
For some people, a very large meal that is particularly high in refined carbohydrates or followed by dessert may result in a significant rise in blood glucose followed by a drop.
Blood glucose regulation is individual, so we can't assume that every person who wakes during the night is experiencing a blood sugar problem. But if you are regularly waking during the night, feeling shaky, sweaty, anxious or unusually hungry, then I’m going to ask you about the meal spacing, and the protein and fibre content of your day’s food. It is something that may be worth discussing in clinic rather than simply assuming that you have insomnia.
When you tell me you’re struggling with early morning wakings I want the full picture. What are you eating for dinner? How much are you eating? When did you eat it? What happened afterwards? And what does the rest of your day of eating look like?
These details can sometimes tell us much more than simply asking whether you're taking the right sleep supplement.
Your evening meal doesn't need to be perfect
This is not about creating another set of food rules.
I don't want you to finish reading this article and suddenly feel that you have failed if dinner happens at 8pm or you have dessert after a meal. Food is about enjoyment, culture, family and social connection as well as nutrition.
Instead, think about patterns.
If you regularly eat a large meal late at night, or maybe you have dinner with young kids at 5pm, followed by second dinner at 8pm once they’re in bed and you're also struggling with falling asleep, staying asleep, reflux or digestive discomfort, it is worth experimenting with bringing your evening meal a little earlier where your lifestyle allows, or making that last meal, lighter and smaller.
If you need to eat late because of work or other commitments, you may find that making lunch more meaningful and a later lighter meal is also more comfortable than trying to have your largest meal of the day immediately before bed.
It's about finding what works for your body and your circumstances rather than following another rigid diet rule.
Could your evening wine and dark chocolate be part of the problem?
This is an area that I see increasingly in clinic, particularly in people we already suspect are sensitive to histamine. Wine and dark chocolate are both foods that may be relevant for someone who is sensitive to histamine. Fermented and smoked foods can also be worth considering if they make a regular appearance.
Histamine is a signalling molecule involved in many processes throughout the body. We commonly associate it with allergic symptoms such as hay fever, sinus congestion, itchy eyes or itchy skin, but histamine also has roles in the nervous system and can influence wakefulness.
This is why someone who is particularly sensitive to histamine may notice that certain foods seem to affect their sleep, particularly when those foods are eaten later in the day.
This isn't something I would assume is happening every time someone has a poor night's sleep. But if you already know that you are sensitive to histamine, or are trying to understand if histamine is something you should be aware of, it can be worth paying attention to whether certain foods consistently seem to coincide with a restless mind or disrupted sleep.
Imagine an evening where you have a charcuterie platter with cured meats, fermented foods and smoked foods, followed by a glass of wine and some dark chocolate. For someone who is particularly sensitive to histamine, that's quite a different situation from having a roast dinner, followed by a cup of herbal tea and finishing eating several hours before bed.
I'm not suggesting that everyone who has a challenging time falling asleep needs to eliminate these foods. I certainly don't want to take the enjoyment out of food. The question is whether your body is giving you feedback.
If you consistently notice that you sleep badly after a particular combination of foods, that's worth paying attention to. and it helps me help you.
Hormones can make the picture more complicated
This can be particularly relevant for women because histamine and oestrogen interact with one another, but also progesterone is a valuable sleep aid.
Someone who is already prone to histamine related symptoms may notice that certain symptoms become more noticeable at particular points in their cycle.
This doesn't mean that every episode of poor sleep around your period is caused by histamine, or that you haven’t ovulated if you get disordered sleep for a while, but it does mean when we talk about your sleep history in clinic we will absolutely be discussing the role hormones are playing.
What should you actually eat in the evening?
I know you can find lists of foods high in tryptophan all over the internet with claims that they'll help you sleep, because they’re rich in tryptophan. Tryptophan converts to 5-HTP, then to serotonin, and then to melatonin with the appropriate cofactors for this conversion (think magnesium, Vitamin D, Iron, B6, B12). But the idea that having chicken for dinner will immediately translate to higher melatonin levels is a stretch. Rather than giving you a strict list of foods to eat before bed, think about what makes your evening meal satisfying and comfortable.
This means having a balanced meal. So we’re looking at a good source of protein, plenty of vegetables or other plant foods, an appropriate source of complex carbohydrate and ideally some form of unsaturated fats.
If you are eating dinner at least 3 hours before bedtime and sleeping well, there may be no reason to change anything. But if you're eating a large meal at 9.30pm, having dessert at 10pm and then wondering why you're lying awake at midnight, your evening food pattern is probably worth investigating.
Sometimes the simplest place to start is the last few hours of your day
When someone tells me they aren't sleeping well, there can be a temptation to look for a complicated answer.
Perhaps they need to supplement something in the cofactors for the tryptophan-melatonin pathway. Perhaps they need to break the cycle with a herbal formula. Perhaps they need to change their entire diet.
Sometimes they do need more support, but I always want to look at the foundations first. Pick the low hangng fruit.
What time are you eating dinner? How large is it? Are you eating again before bed? Are you drinking alcohol? Are there particular foods that seem to make your sleep worse? Are you experiencing reflux? And are you eating in a way that supports stable energy throughout the day?
These questions seem simple, but they can give us some very useful information.
You don't need to give up the foods you love
I think this is really important.
If you love a glass of wine with dinner, dark chocolate, a charcuterie board or going out for a late meal with friends, I don't want the answer to be "You can't have that anymore."
Instead, think about timing and ensuring they remain things you enjoy, which means not thrashing them everynight.
Could you enjoy those foods earlier in the evening? Could you notice whether your sleep is different when you eat them at 6pm compared with 10pm? Could you save the big shared meal for a night when you don't have to get up early the next day?
Sometimes it's not the food itself that is the problem. It is the combination of the food, the quantity, the timing and your individual response.
Start by looking at your evening routine
If you're struggling with sleep, don’t change everything at once.
For the next week, simply notice what happens in the final few hours before bed. When did you eat your last meal? Did you have a snack afterwards? What did you eat? Did you drink alcohol? Did you experience reflux or digestive discomfort? And how did you sleep?
Look for the patterns. I find writing these details down critical. Or evey night blurs into the next.
That information can be incredibly useful because instead of guessing what might be affecting your sleep, you're starting to understand your own body’s response.
The takeaway
We often think about sleep as something that is separate from nutrition, but the two are closely connected.
What you eat, when you eat and how your digestive system responds can all influence how comfortable you feel at night. For some people, late meals may contribute to digestive discomfort or reflux. For others, blood glucose regulation or sensitivity to particular foods may be worth exploring.
And if histamine is part of your individual picture, foods such as wine, fermented foods, smoked foods and dark chocolate may be worth paying attention to.
You don't need to create a complicated diet or give up everything you enjoy.
Listen to the podcast
If you'd like to hear me talk about how food timing, late night eating, blood sugar, reflux and histamine can influence sleep, listen to my conversation with Bobi on The Most FM.
Listen to: Is What You Eat Affecting Your Sleep
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Why You’re Not Sleeping Well (And What You Can Do About It)
How Your Circadian Rhythm Affects Your Gut Health: Why Routine Matters
