Everyone is different, but there are certain foods that most should avoid eating before bed. The following foods tend to negatively affect your quality of sleep, and we all know maximizing one’s amount of sleep before the next day’s workout is crucial!
#1 Milk- Milk is a healthy source of calcium and protein but its lactose content often induces a sugar high, resulting in having difficulty to fall asleep! Instead, try drinking lactose-free milk. This type of milk generally has a higher protein content than regular milk, and has a delicious creamy taste.
#2- Chocolate- Chocolate often contains caffeine, which will definitely inhibit your ability to fall asleep! Instead, try making your own chocolate-flavored protein brownie. Many low-carb and great tasting recipes are easily found on the Internet!
#3- Meat- Most meats are heavy and require a lot of energy to digest. Eating this before bed will cause your body to focus on digestion, and less on relaxing and falling asleep. Try filling your before-bed protein requirements with turkey meat, which contains tryptophan (a sleep-promoting amino acid). A slow-digesting protein powder, ie. a casein protein, is also a good option to have before bed.
#4- Celery- Celery is a natural diuretic, which means you will use the washroom more than usual after consumption (you don’t want this to happen throughout the course of the night!). Try having broccoli or cauliflower (I know, such delicious alternatives) instead!
#5- Fruit Juice- Fruit juice can be very acidic, causing issues for those with heart burn. It also contains lots of simple sugars which will cause the body to have a large sugar high and crash during the night. Instead, mix some fresh berries with cottage cheese. The cottage cheese provides slow digesting amino acids for your body throughout the night, and fresh berries have very little glycemic content.