While popular advice suggests consuming a glass of wine, warm milk, or banana to improve sleep, most connections between food and sleep are based on cherry-picking of scientific evidence rather than direct causation. Sleep is complex and involves many biological and behavioral systems, requiring careful evaluation of fact versus fiction regarding dietary influences.
Caffeine definitively interrupts sleep and should be skipped from 3 p.m. onward—or from noon if caffeine sensitive—including coffee, tea, soda, and energy drinks. Caffeine breaks down slowly in the body, requiring adequate time to lose stimulant effects. While red wine or other alcoholic beverages may provide immediate relaxation benefits, alcohol is a well-studied sleep disruptor. Chocolate also can have negative effects on sleep due to higher amounts of theobromine, a caffeine-like compound that may keep people awake, particularly dark chocolate.
A high-fat meal before bed proves disruptive and should be avoided for at least three hours before lying down, as fat slows food’s passage from the stomach and a full stomach interferes with both falling and staying asleep. A small low-fat snack of up to around 150 calories within an hour of bedtime may help if dinner is early and bedtime late—more than four hours from dinner to bedtime. Suitable options include a small piece of fruit, a cup of low-sugar cereal, a few cups of air-popped popcorn, or a small container of plain Greek yogurt. For some people, going to bed on an empty stomach is unsettling and interrupts comfortable drifting off to sleep.
The popular belief that turkey induces drowsiness represents a common myth regarding food and sleep effects, as do many other widely circulated claims about specific foods’ sleep-promoting properties.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.ms.now/know-your-value/dr-fernstrom-can-you-eat-your-way-better-night-s-n1011926