Don't eat before bed

[Penny]

I know this isn't a revolutionary tip, but I'm adding it because I still can't believe how many of my friends do this before bed and then complain to me about how they're not getting proper rest or they can't shake the weight. Eat a decent meal a few hours before bedtime and you shouldn't feel hungry. If you do get a serious case of the munchies, then make celery your new best friend :)

[bigbobby]

Good advice Penny. I find that If I eat a couple hours before bed I'm fine. Eating too early just causes me to snack and totally keeps me awake.

[jan]

Usually I try not to eat before I go to bed but I do find that in a lot of cases this can seriously be easier said than done. I also believe that while you should avoid eating before you go to bed, if you find yourself absolutely starving, it's better to eat something (low-cal and low-fat and low-sugar) to satisfy your hunger than to go to bed hungry. If all you can think about is food while you're lying in bed, you'll be miserable and you'll not only not get a good sleep but you'll likely end up getting up and eating something super unhealthy at some point.

[ffviifan]

For the most part I agree with you and I'm sure that's wise advice for the average person. But, personally, for me, I find that whether I eat before bed or not doesn't effect my sleep. I could have a coffee before bed and I can go to sleep right after. I think everyone's body is different.

That said, if you are having trouble sleeping and it doesn't seem to make a difference what you do before you go to bed, go see your doctor. It could turn out that the reason you have trouble sleeping is that you have a sleep disorder.

[bruceH]

I also think that eating before bed is a bad idea. If you do need to eat, definitely have something very low-cal, low in fat and low in sugar. I would recommend celery or soda crackers.

[speeddemon]

There's no harm in eating before bed as long as you're not eating anything heavy, fattening or high in calories. Also, there's a difference between eating 10 minutes before you go to bed and an hour before. I wouldn't recommend eating any later than an hour before bed. Whatever you do, don't deny yourself food and go to bed hungry. This is likely to disrupt your sleep more, only because if all your thinking about is food, you'll have a heck of a time getting sleep.

[Penny]

I do agree with some of you that you definitely shouldn't go to bed hungry, but I really think food should be consume no later than 2 hours before bed and if you do get the munchies you should have something light. A lot of the time we need an oral fixation more than anything. Sometimes distracting the mind by doing something active with you hands (but not too creative because you don't want to get your mind all keyed up) like knitting can help you see that you're not so hungry after all. All I'm saying is that you should avoid eating before bed as much as possible.