Is It Better To Sleep On An Empty Or Full Stomach?

Is it better to sleep on an empty or full stomach? Some people say full and others say empty, which causes a lot of discussion. In reality, none of these extremes are good.

Find out more about this in this article.

Sleeping on an empty stomach: this is what you need to know

Many people think that going to bed without eating is a good way to lose weight, but that is not true. Food is necessary for a good night’s sleep. There’s nothing worse than lying awake because the rumbling of your stomach won’t let you sleep.

This mistaken belief is based on a hypothesis that ‘everything you consume in the evening meal makes you fat’. That’s why people think that going to bed without eating is better.

However, the empty feeling will have you devouring everything in the fridge the next morning or you will wake up in the middle of the night and head to the kitchen for a ‘night snack’. This isn’t good for your body, because instead of an apple, you’re probably craving a quick, unhealthy bite.

The way the human body works can tell you the best habits you should follow. Going to bed with a  feeling of hunger or without anything to eat is guaranteed to provide a night in which you don’t sleep a wink or sleep very badly. The next day, the consequences will be much worse, especially if you do this every day.

So as they always say, extremes are not good. What is recommended is to allow a few hours to pass between dinner and bedtime.

If it’s already too late for dinner, don’t make the mistake of not eating anything, but instead opt for lighter foods, such as soup, yogurt, cornflakes, or tea with toast. But for no reason you should go to bed on an empty stomach.

What time to eat?

Studies say that the amount of time you have to wait between eating and going to bed should be at least an hour and a half. For example, you can use this time to do the dishes, read, study, watch a little TV (but not too much), chat with your partner, clean your house, or get the clothes ready for the next day. to lay.

An evening meal high in carbohydrates and low in protein is best. Avoid saturated fats, as they will only slow your digestion and also cause gas and other discomforts while you are trying to sleep.

If you come home late from work or school and wonder if you should have dinner so late or if it’s better to go straight to bed, don’t think about it. Eat something light, but never go to bed on an empty stomach.

Scientific studies say that this can cause sleep loss and decrease your muscle mass during the night. The feeling of hunger keeps your brain alert. If you don’t get enough sleep, you have a slower metabolism and your ghrelin levels go up.

This is a hormone that stimulates appetite and causes you to wake up and eat more, without monitoring the amounts you eat.

Going to bed without eating or feeling hungry will make you sleep less, which is bad if you want to build muscle. When your body doesn’t get nutrients for a long time, it breaks down the muscles to get energy. If you want to lose weight, skipping meals or not eating in the evening is not a good thing.

The Disadvantages of Sleeping on a Full Stomach

On the other hand, there are also people who stuff themselves completely with food during the evening meal and then go to bed with the feeling that they weigh 5 kilos heavier. When you stuff yourself with food, it accumulates in the stomach, which is the organ responsible for producing enzymes and acids for digestion.

It is best to eat more fruits and vegetables in the evening and avoid sugar, fried foods and flour.

Blood goes directly to this area and can make you feel sleepy. However, you should wait a while before going to bed. For example, watch television or read a book.

Eating a lot and going straight to bed not only makes you overweight, but also acid, that ‘burning’ feeling in your stomach, problems falling asleep, nightmares and more problems. But beware, because dinner itself does not make you fatter. This depends on the amount and type of food you eat during the evening.

Nutritionists say it’s best to stop eating carbohydrates four hours before bedtime and preferably wait two hours between dinner and bedtime.

Your metabolism is slower at night. Digestion takes longer. This causes, among other things, intestinal gas due to the increase of food fermentation in the intestines.

Resting after eating is necessary, but it is not the same as sleeping. Sit comfortably on the couch to talk, read or watch television before going to bed.

What not to do

Experts also say that taking a bath before going to sleep isn’t a problem, as long as it’s not too hot and you don’t spend too much time in the bath.

Swimming is prohibited, however, because there is a competition for the lack of blood between the muscles of the digestive system and that of inferior and superior organs. For that reason, you often have cramps.

Going to bed right after you finish dinner increases the risk of reflux, especially if you’ve had multiple plates or if the foods were high in calories and fat. As a result, you have trouble falling asleep and sleeping problems.