Does it matter if you eat right before bed?
No. Apparently it does not if you are a healthy adult. Eating before bed will not affect your blood sugar levels or increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
This is good news to me. I regularly eat dinner and then go to bed. According to new research getting enough sleep is far more important than leaving 2 hours between eating and sleeping. Another benefit to my later meal timing. I never snack after dinner. Recreational snacking results in “extra” calories.
Japanese research of healthy adults between 40- 74 years old found that,
“Weight (BMI), blood pressure, blood fats (triglycerides), physical activity levels, smoking and drinking seemed to be more strongly associated with changes in HbA1c levels rather than the interval between eating and sleeping, the findings showed.”
HbA1c levels measure average blood glucose levels over a long term and considered a reliable indication of future health risks.
Eat like the Japanese
A traditional Japanese meal consists of lots of vegetables, soup and small portion sizes. Not the typical North American diet, high fat, high salt, high sugar, and processed foods in large portions.
Another study also published in the British Medical Journal, on (their words not mine, but I like it) younger women between 50-65 years old in the USA. highlights the health consequences of this type of eating.
This study concludes,
“Regularly eating fried food is linked with a heightened risk of death from any cause and heart-related death, among postmenopausal women.”
This study followed more than 100,000 women for five years and found that eating fried foods, especially fried chicken and fish, increased the risk of early death between 8-13%
Simple meals, sleep soundly, stay healthy
If you want to sleep soundly, eat less, eat more vegetables and sleep better anytime.
It can be a vicious circle, since poor sleep is linked to overeating foods high in fat, and sugar as well as eating more calories the next day.Which leads to poor sleep and the cycle begins again.
If you are healthy, it really doesn’t matter if you eat right before bed, or wait a few hours, but it does matter what you eat.
Eat plants, and not too much, to sleep soundly.
Change your mind, change your health,
Shayla
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