7 things in your diet that could be sabotaging your sleep

7 things in your diet that could be sabotaging your sleep7 things in your diet that could be sabotaging your sleepEveryone knows thatdrinking coffeeafter a certain hour can keep you up past bedtime, but the connection between what we ingest and how we sleep goes a lot deeper than an after-dinner cup of joe various excesses and deficiencies in the diet can have a surprising effect on sleep quality. If you struggle withinsomnia, striving for the right balance of these foods, drinks, and specific nutrients may help you get a good nights rest. Heres a look at some of the top dietary sleep disruptors.1. Too Much SugarDid your parents ever tell you that if you ate sweets to close to bedtime youd never get to sleep? They may have been on to something. Thoughsugar wont make you hyperas people often claim, itcaninterfere with your rest. Frequent consumption of energy drinks and sugar-sweetened beverages has been associated with poor sleep quality.Research revealsthat a diet generally high in carbohydrates - especially simple sugars - often results in increased nighttime wakefulness. To boost your chances of waking up refreshed, moderate your sugar intake throughout the day, opting instead for a balance of complex carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats.2. Too Much AlcoholBeer, wine, and cocktails can make us feel so relaxed and sleepy. Arent they a friend to our nighttime rest? Not necessarily. Too much alcohol can actually keep us awake. Consumption of three or more alcoholic drinks before bed promotes sleep disturbancewithin just three days. Experts recommend people with trouble sleeping exercise caution when it comes to the amount of alcohol they imbibe, especially in the evening.3. Too Little Vitamin DDid you know the sunshine vitamin you soak up during the day can also help you at night? Authors of anew studyin the journalNutritional Neuroscienceset out to test the theory that robust levels of vitamin D could improve sleep quality - and their research proved th em right. When study subjects with sleep disorders took high-dose supplements of the vitamin, they fell asleep faster, slept longer, and had improved sleep quality overall. Many Americans arechronically deficient in vitamin D, and the only way to know for sure if your levels are low is to get a blood test. If one reveals you need more, foods rich in vitamin D like milk, cheese, egg yolks, and fatty fish can help - or talk to your doctor about incorporating supplements.4. Too Much CaffeineTrue, coffee can keep you wired and jittery at bedtime, but its not so much the coffee itself as the caffeine it contains. Hard evidence backs up this common knowledge A2017 systematic reviewconfirmed a host of caffeines ill effects on sleep, from reduced slow-wave sleep, to difficulty falling asleep, to decreased total sleep time. Cutting out coffee and espresso drinks close to bedtime is an obvious solution, but you may also want to take a closer look at your diet to uncover unexpected sources of caffeine. Soda, chocolate, and even chocolate-flavored foods like ice creams and cereals could contain enough to keep you up at night.5. Too Much Water - or Too LittleWhile drinking too much coffee before bed can keep you up at night, so can drinking too much water. (Havent we all experienced the sleep-disrupting effects of a full bladder?) But toolittlehydration may also have a negative effect on your rest. Whilesome research indicatesthat mild dehydration shouldnt pose a threat to sleep quality, the National Sleep Foundationstates that even a moderate lack of fluids can cause problems. Parched airways make you more likely to snore, and dehydration-induced leg cramps are a painful cause of nighttime waking. To find the right hydration balance, try to drink non-caffeinated, non-alcoholic beverages throughout the day, but dont overdo water intake in the hours leading up to bedtime.6. Too Little MagnesiumOf all the nutrients we keep track of in our foods, magnesium doesnt generally rank very high but perhaps it should. Among its many functions in the body, this dietary mineral promotes healthy digestion, helps maintain blood sugar levels, andcan improvethe bodys performance on various measures of insomnia. Foods like legumes, spinach and other leafy greens, and salmon are just a few options to boost your magnesium levels and promote better sleep.7. Too Much Spicy FoodNotice a recurring trend of poor sleep after Taco Tuesday? Spicy foods are notorious for causing sleep troubles. In some people, this may be because these foods promote indigestion or aggravate acid reflux. But even if tummy troubles arent your issue, spicy foods could pose another hindrance to rest. In an effort to explore the connection between spicy food and sleep disruption, researchers inone studyhad subjects eat Tabasco sauce and mustard with their evening meal, then monitored their nighttime sleep. Not surprisingly, it took subjects longer than usual to fall to sleep, and they experienced i ncreased total wake time. The study authors concluded that this welches because capsaicin - a chemical compound in many spicy foods - raised body temperature in the first stage of sleep.If youre struggling to get a good nights rest, try keeping a food and drink journal to identify recurring patterns. You may find your diet has more to do with your sleep than you ever dreamed.This article was originally published on Brit + Co.