What time should you have dinner for a quality night's sleep?

Have you ever had trouble falling asleep after having too much dinner? Or when you miss the hour you always eat and eat a little late, and you suffer from stomach pain all night? If your answers are yes, you may have noticed the 'relationship between dinner and sleep'. We can say that you are not mistaken in your feelings, especially if you think that heavy meals negatively affect sleep quality or that eating late disrupts your sleep pattern.

It is obvious that heavy dinners cause difficulty in falling asleep at night by tiring the stomach; however, experts point out that 'when we eat' is as important as 'what we eat'; They emphasize how critical the dinner time is for a quality night's sleep.

Sleep expert Peter Polos touches on the importance of the '3-hour rule' for a quality night's sleep. That is, “What time should I have dinner for a good and comfortable night's sleep?” If you are wondering; Polos says the answer is "3 hours before bedtime," and adds: "The three hours in between provide enough time for digestion, which prevents sleep interruptions caused by nighttime digestive upsets." Similarly, Sleep Coach Sanchita Sen emphasizes that the ideal time for dinner is 3 hours before going to bed. “3 hours helps the stomach digest properly and prepare your body for sleep.” says.

Since stopping eating about 3 hours before going to bed will help ease digestion, it prevents gastrointestinal problems such as gas, bloating and indigestion that occur at night, and increases the chance of experiencing a quality night's sleep. On the other hand, experts also state that you should not eat too early, like not to eat too late. Because, when dinner is eaten very early, the probability of going to bed on an empty stomach increases; This can cause you to wake up in the middle of the night as it causes sudden blood sugar drops.

If you want to sleep soundly every night, there is another issue as important as stopping eating 3 hours before going to sleep, and that is: Stability. Neuroscientist and Sleep Specialist Sofia Axelrod points out that eating at the same time every night and going to bed at the same time every night is very important for balancing the body, maintaining sleep-eating patterns and maintaining a lifestyle that is suitable for circadian rhythm. He says keeping meal and sleep times as consistent as possible is one of the safest habits for holistic health. “If you always eat at the same time, your body learns to prepare the digestive system—for example, by producing digestive enzymes—to digest the food you eat optimally.” he explains.

In order to adopt a habit that will protect your health as well as a quality night's sleep, keeping your meal times and bedtime as constant as possible can support the harmonious functioning of all systems in your body. You can improve your sleep quality by paying attention to the sleep-eating relationship, if you wish, you can also support it with products that will help increase your sleep quality.