Melatonin. Melatonin is a natural hormone responsible for the sleep-wake cycle, inducing sleep. Light exposure determines melatonin production—highest at night and lowest during the day. Foods rich in melatonin include almonds, walnuts, cherries, bananas, kiwi, turkey, oats, and tomatoes.
“If you are hungry, you should eat something, regardless of the time of day,” says Aimee Takamura, registered dietitian and director of wellness and sustainability at Restaurant Associates. “The act of eating late at night does not affect metabolism or lead to many of the adverse effects you may have heard of.
Going to bed hungry may be OK if you're meeting nutrition requirements on a daily basis or following a healthy weight loss plan. In many cases, a healthy eating schedule may result in you feeling hungry before bedtime.
It's never too late to eat. Listen to your body. Don't eat if you aren't hungry, but if you are spreading your calories out as the day goes on, it's ok to get the final calories of the day at night.
Eating late at night may lead to acid reflux and negatively affect blood sugar management, blood pressure, and weight. This may be due to many factors like poor food choices.
Try Not to Eat Too Late
Keeping a healthy sleeping schedule and going to bed early is the best to avoid late-night snacking. Foods are meant to act as fuel to keep your body going. But your body needs to calm down and rest at night. So, make sure you do not stuff that overstimulates you and messes up your sleep.
There's no such thing as a set time you should eat dinner.
Someone who wakes up at 5am could be having dinner at 5pm, while someone who goes to sleep at 1am could be having dinner at 10pm–none of it is inherently wrong or unhealthy, according to Farah Fahad, registered dietitian and founder of The Farah Effect.
Chamomile and valerian are popular teas that people drink before bed, but other substances may also help. These include almond milk and cherry juice. Although some drinks contain tryptophan or melatonin, which are known to improve sleep, researchers are unclear about how other drinks help people fall asleep.
Cherries. Cherries and cherry juice contain high levels of melatonin, a hormone in the brain that controls your sleep regulation. One study even shows that drinking tart cherry juice could improve sleep in people who suffer from insomnia.
The bottom line. Eating bananas before bed may help you get a good night's sleep. Bananas are rich in magnesium, potassium, tryptophan, vitamin B6, carbs, and fiber, all of which may improve sleep quality via different mechanisms.
Waking up hungry likely isn't a cause for concern, but you'll need to make sure any late-night eating isn't making you gain too much weight. Eat a healthy dinner and don't go to bed hungry. A high-protein snack or a warm glass of milk can keep your blood sugar levels steady through the night.
Carbohydrate-rich foods like toast trigger insulin production. This induces sleep by speeding up the release of tryptophan, a chemical that helps to relax the body and send it off to sleep. Like toast, milk releases serotonin, another great body relaxer.
Your body will not store more fat after eating the same meal at 9:00 pm as opposed to 6:00 pm—the calorie intake is the same. If you overeat, your body will store the extra calories as fat no matter what time you consume them.
Get Meal Timing Right with RISE
There's no set time you should stop eating before bed, but as a guide, you should aim to have your last meal two to three hours before going to sleep. Avoid late-night meals, late-night snacking, and nighttime eating as much as possible.
There's no evidence that a small, healthy snack before bed leads to weight gain. Just keep in mind your total daily calorie intake. Therefore, if you feel that eating something before bed helps you fall asleep or stay asleep, it's OK to do so.