Eating at Night

Some people are surprised when they learn that sleep experts and nutrition experts often recommend a small snack close to bedtime.  It is widely accepted that a proper snack can not only help you fall asleep more easily, but can also support a better night of sleep.

Whether it’s Joy Bauer, the resident expert on diet and weight loss for The Today Show, or sleep expert Dr. Michael Breus, author of Good Night, and Beauty Sleep, a snack before bed is understood to play an important role in how we sleep at night.

We’ve included some links below to help you understand the role of a proper snack before bed to help you sleep better:

1. WebMD on how the right snack can help you sleep better
2. Video of sleep expert Dr. Michael Breus on the importance of carbs in your bedtime snack
3. Sleep tips from SleepBetter.org (see tip #7)
4. Dr. Sears gets a little technical talking about food, sleep, and caffeine
5. Discovery Health recommends experimenting with your late night snacks to see what works best for you
6. Today Show nutritionist Joy Bauer talks about tryptophan, seratonin, and melatonin
7. Web MD slideshow on foods that help (and hurt) a good night of sleep
8. New York Times tips on sleep hygiene. #4 says “don’t go to bed hungry”.
9. The Mayo Clinic on bedtime snacks
10. RealAge.com (led by Dr. Mehmet Oz & Dr. Michael Roizen) on foods for better sleep (written before NightFood hit the market)
11. Dr. Oz in Parade Magazine talks about going to bed hungry, and the impact of poor sleep on weight gain
12. Sleep expert, Dr. Robert Oexman recommends a high-carb snack before bed

Let’s be clear:  this doesn’t mean you should eat whatever you want before bed, in any quantities.  There are certain guidelines you need to follow in order to ensure that the snack you’re eating is going to help your sleep, and not hinder it.

As I started to research bedtime nutrition for myself, it seemed odd that there was no nutrition bar for bedtime.  We’ve got bars for pre-workout, bars for post-workout, bars for weight gain, bars for weight loss, bars for pregnant women, bars for just about everything but sleep.

The more I researched, the more I realized why this is…people are so hypnotized by the myth of not eating before bed that manufacturers probably feel that nobody would buy their bar.   This myth has already been busted, and people are just now starting to catch on.  Research continues to point towards the benefits of a bedtime snack, and now many experts are too.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.