Avoid These 5 Foods Before Bed for a Quality Sleep
Deepak Rajeev | Nov 26, 2025, 13:48 IST
What Foods Not to Eat Before Sleep?
( Image credit : Freepik )
Getting good sleep is vital for long-term health. What you eat for dinner significantly impacts rest. Avoid caffeinated drinks, fried foods, excessive water, alcohol, and desserts before bed. These items can interfere with your body's natural rest cycle. Making mindful food choices ensures a refreshed start to the next day.
Getting quality sleep is an essential requirement for our overall health and wellbeing. Many of us don’t care about what we eat for dinner. The truth is, our last meal plays a significant role in making sure that we receive a sound and peaceful sleep.
Along with reducing the digestive load of our internal organs by eating at least two to three hours before sleep, we should also identify the food items that are disrupting our rest. Let’s understand which are these dishes and how they affect the quality of our slumber.
You have guessed it right. Caffeine is a stimulant that we use to remain awake and boost alertness. When caffeine enters our system, the brain activity increases and our ability to fall asleep will be affected very badly as a result.
In fact, a study published by the University of Texas pointed out that night time caffeine can multiply our impulsive behaviour. This is the reason why some people stay awake whole night and scroll endlessly through social media or binge watch film series. Therefore, experts recommend that we should try to avoid caffeine at least 4-5 hours before bedtime.
Dieticians say that deep fried food items contain high amounts of fat. These fats and oil can be hard on our digestive system and it will have to work extra hard in the night. Additionally, fried items can also increase gas and heartburn which will make it even harder to fall asleep.
Why should we let our body suffer silently when what it should really do is shut down and take rest? Hence, the best thing to do would be to save your chicken nuggets or 65 delights for the next day.
There is an old saying that “In excess, any good thing can become bad.” This is especially true when it comes to taking excessive water before we sleep. When more than enough water is present within our system, we will be forced to visit the toilet multiple times in between our rest. This continual disruption can weaken the depth of our sleep. Thus, it is highly recommended that we limit our water intake a few hours before bed. The key is moderation.
Some folks believe that a little bit of alcohol before lights out helps them. But Science tells us the opposite. Even a moderate amount of alcohol can act as diuretics drug. This will increase urine production and, like excess water, disrupts our sleep. True relaxation doesn’t comes from dimming our consciousness through alcohol or other drugs, but a 7-8 hour natural, peaceful sleep.
As we all know, chocolates or ice-cream can gift us that momentary dopamine hit. But it will be followed by brain fog and increased energy making us more active throughout the night instead of resting. Moreover, many chocolates contain caffeine that can take us further away from receiving a good night’s rest.
Desserts also contain sugar and fat that can delay digestion. Thus, like our fried chicken nuggets, it would best if you would decide to enjoy your chocolate desserts the next day.
Sleep is the time period in which our body and mind refreshes and gets ready for functioning well on the next day. To achieve a balanced night’s rest, we should try to avoid the above-mentioned food items namely caffeinated drinks, fried foods, excessive water, alcohol and desserts. After all, what is a better a way of kickstarting our self-care journey than making sure that we receive a good night’s sleep?
Explore the latest trends and tips in Health & Fitness, Spiritual, Travel, Life Hacks, Trending, Fashion & Beauty, andRelationships at Times Life!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Along with reducing the digestive load of our internal organs by eating at least two to three hours before sleep, we should also identify the food items that are disrupting our rest. Let’s understand which are these dishes and how they affect the quality of our slumber.
1. Caffeinated Drinks
You have guessed it right. Caffeine is a stimulant that we use to remain awake and boost alertness. When caffeine enters our system, the brain activity increases and our ability to fall asleep will be affected very badly as a result.
In fact, a study published by the University of Texas pointed out that night time caffeine can multiply our impulsive behaviour. This is the reason why some people stay awake whole night and scroll endlessly through social media or binge watch film series. Therefore, experts recommend that we should try to avoid caffeine at least 4-5 hours before bedtime.
2. Fried Food
Dieticians say that deep fried food items contain high amounts of fat. These fats and oil can be hard on our digestive system and it will have to work extra hard in the night. Additionally, fried items can also increase gas and heartburn which will make it even harder to fall asleep.
Why should we let our body suffer silently when what it should really do is shut down and take rest? Hence, the best thing to do would be to save your chicken nuggets or 65 delights for the next day.
3. Excessive Water
Limit Your Water Intake a Few Hours Before Bed
( Image credit : Freepik )
There is an old saying that “In excess, any good thing can become bad.” This is especially true when it comes to taking excessive water before we sleep. When more than enough water is present within our system, we will be forced to visit the toilet multiple times in between our rest. This continual disruption can weaken the depth of our sleep. Thus, it is highly recommended that we limit our water intake a few hours before bed. The key is moderation.
4. Alcohol
Alcohol is a Diuretics Drug
( Image credit : Freepik )
Some folks believe that a little bit of alcohol before lights out helps them. But Science tells us the opposite. Even a moderate amount of alcohol can act as diuretics drug. This will increase urine production and, like excess water, disrupts our sleep. True relaxation doesn’t comes from dimming our consciousness through alcohol or other drugs, but a 7-8 hour natural, peaceful sleep.
5. Desserts
As we all know, chocolates or ice-cream can gift us that momentary dopamine hit. But it will be followed by brain fog and increased energy making us more active throughout the night instead of resting. Moreover, many chocolates contain caffeine that can take us further away from receiving a good night’s rest.
Desserts also contain sugar and fat that can delay digestion. Thus, like our fried chicken nuggets, it would best if you would decide to enjoy your chocolate desserts the next day.
Sleep is the time period in which our body and mind refreshes and gets ready for functioning well on the next day. To achieve a balanced night’s rest, we should try to avoid the above-mentioned food items namely caffeinated drinks, fried foods, excessive water, alcohol and desserts. After all, what is a better a way of kickstarting our self-care journey than making sure that we receive a good night’s sleep?
Explore the latest trends and tips in Health & Fitness, Spiritual, Travel, Life Hacks, Trending, Fashion & Beauty, andRelationships at Times Life!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Is cucumber good before bed?Cucumber can used as a light and low-calorie snack before bed. But it has very high water content. Therefore, it is recommended to eat it 3-4 hours before sleep so as to avoid night-time bathroom trips and bloating.
- What is the best vegetable to eat before bedtime?Leafy green vegetables like spinach and kale are great choices before bedtime. The high magnesium content present in these food items can boost sleep quality by regulating melatonin.
- Which fruit gives deep sleep?Fruits including cherries, bananas and kiwis are apt choices for ensuring a good night's sleep.