If you’re staying up late and you need some extra energy to keep yourself going, or you’ve woken up in the middle of the night and you simply feel a little peckish, you’re a culprit of the midnight snack. Snacking late at night is fun, there’s no doubt about that. However, if you start to do it regularly, it can start to affect your sleep.
During the night, your body rests, repairs and recuperates from the work and stress of the previous day. What midnight snacking can do is push your digestive system back into action, which will make it very difficult for you to get to sleep easily. If you’re predisposed, you may even suffer from indigestion.
Fortunately, there are some handy methods that can keep you from snacking at night! It’s easy to break a habit that you only do when half asleep anyway. First, try to ensure your main meal of the day is filling and high in carbohydrates. Carbohydrates and provide slow release energy, which keeps you full and ready to go for hours! Snack foods such as crisps or chocolate will disrupt your metabolism, as they’re what’s known as “empty calories”.
Secondly, you should consider settling down at night a little earlier than usual. The later it gets, the more you’ll begin to crave food. This is because when your body doesn’t get sleep, it produces a chemical that makes it desire energy. Heading to bed slightly earlier will help reduce those hunger pangs and consequently stop you from needing that late night nibble. If all else fails, simply make sure that there’s as little snack-esque food available to reach with ease inside the house. That should be a deterrent in the least. Combine these tips and you’ll be on your way to a better night’s sleep in no time!
