How Sugar at Night Can Sabotage Your Sweet Dreams

Well, the choice is yours do you wish to indulge in sweets over sweet sleep? Sugar has been proven to affect your quality of sleep. While sugar can spike up your energies, there is also an opposite action as it later dips energy level, and hence the feel-good factor is only temporary.

Consuming sugar in form of candies, chocolate, and desserts or refined carbohydrates such as bread and pasta and even alcohol especially close to nighttime delays the body’s release of the sleep hormone melatonin resulting in shallow or restless sleep. For deep restorative sleep, it is recommended to cut back on sugar and introduce good fiber in your food instead. Some examples of foods with fiber that are good for sleep include beans, quinoa, bran cereal, and artichoke.

The more sugar you take during the day the more your chances of waking up in the middle of the night. High sugar in your system can be energy depleting as it comes in the way of deep rest, making you feel exhausted all the time. People with high blood sugar are known to experience dizziness, restlessness, and weakness as a result. Eating a high dose of sugar reduces the activity of what are called orexin cells that are responsible for wakefulness and regulating appetite. It is no wonder after having a lot of sugary fare or alcohol one usually feels sleepy and tired. The initial high soon turns into drowsiness.

It is very important to keep your blood sugar steady to ensure your energy level stays normal and also to curb unhealthy cravings. Reduce simple carbohydrates such as pasta and bread, with complex carbohydrates such as whole grains like quinoa, rye, corn, and barley. Read more about a proper diet for a good sleep. By doing so you will be increasing your nutritional intake, stabilizing your blood sugar and sleeping better than ever before.

Sometimes, the natural sugar in the form of fruits can be good for your body and its functioning. Dieticians believe that anything with natural sugar has health benefits making it part of healthy eating. Fruits have important minerals and vitamins that cannot be overruled. Having food with natural sugars such as an apple will also not give you an instant superficial energy spike followed by lethargy; it will give you the right amount of energy to sustain you through your day. Also, it has been observed having little sugar along with other constituents such as proteins and fiber, ensures it gets absorbed in a better way, making it less hazardous for the system. Even alcohol had in small amounts is advisable along with some nuts on the side.

One natural sugar drink that helps people sleep is melatonin-rich tart cherry juice. It is known to be the most natural form of melatonin that has helped people with chronic insomnia, and just two glasses of it a day is known to put one off to deep sleep. So choose your sugar wisely!

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