A health expert has revealed the exact time it's best to eat before going to bed(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Exact time you should eat to avoid being too hungry or uncomfortably full at bedtime

A health expert has revealed how you can ensure that you’re eating at the perfect time so that you can get the best night’s sleep possible and not feel hungry or over full

28 Nov 2024, 12:00 by Beth Tanner · The Mirror

When you eat can have a huge impact on how well you sleep at night, an expert has revealed.

New research from Roseland Furniture shows that there are a number of reasons why people in the UK struggle to sleep, with one of which being not eating at the right time. The results of the survey showed that 90.7 percent of Brits find that physical, emotional, and environmental factors can impact sleep quality, including what they’ve eaten, and when.

The survey showed that feeling uncomfortable, such as having symptoms from an illness or health condition or feeling hungry or over full, was the most likely scenario to disrupt sleep. According to Dr Babak Ashrafi, from Superdrug Online Doctor: “Most adults need around 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night to feel their best, but everyone’s different. Some people function perfectly on 6, while others need closer to 10.”

Dr Wallang recommends eating 'light' before bed to make falling asleep easier( Image: Getty Images)

If you find that you’re struggling to get enough sleep and feel that your diet may be the cause, there are steps that you can take. According to Dr Paul Wallang, Consultant Psychiatrist at Cardinal Clinic, you can alter your diet to make sure that you’re able to sleep properly.

The health expert explained that there’s a right time and a wrong time to eat, and understanding that can help to ensure that you’re able to get all the sleep that you need. He recommended: “Eat light and have dinner three hours before sleep,” adding that eating too much or being hungry can both impact your sleep, making it more difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep.

It’s not just what you eat that can impact your sleep, what you drink can also have a negative effect on how much shuteye you’re able to get. Dr Wallang explains that it’s best to ‘avoid alcohol and caffeinated drinks’ up to six hours before you sleep, as consuming them in this time period can have a significantly negative impact on your sleep.

Other issues that were listed within the survey as a common cause of keeping people awake at night included:

Illness or health condition symptom (34.3%)
Health-related worries (29.6%)
Temperature - too hot (28.0%)
Financial or money-related worries (27.9%)
Poor mental health (27.2%)
Work-related worries (22.1%)
External noise (16.3%)
Negative sentiment/unease thinking about upcoming plans or event (15.5%)
Internal noise (14.3%)
Temperature - too cold (13.0%)
Positive sentiment/excitement thinking about upcoming plans or event (11.6%)
Grief (11.3%)
Relationship issues (10.8%)
Late-night creativity or inspiration (9.6%)
None of the above (9.3%)
Family-related routine or issues (7.4%)
Pet-related issues (7.1%)
Having sex (6.9%)
Environmental worries (6.0%)
Fear (5.7%)
Light pollution (5.4%)
Fright (3.4%)