Why It's Not A Good Idea To Eat Before Bed

I was just reading this post on this one blog and the author is telling me how I should always eat before bedtime. If you have the same train of thought as him and you think eating before you go to sleep is beneficial, I'm here to tell you why it's not! Without the research!

First off, you sleep to rest your body, recover your muscles, and let your brain cool off. And to do this, your body releases a chemical called melatonin, which calms the body. When you wake up the next day, you should feel energized and prepared for the day.

You eat because your body needs nourishment and more energy for optimal performance. To do this, your body increases metabolism to help digest the foods, giving you a little energy after each meal. Eat too much, and it will have the adverse effect, and you will get very lazy or sleepy. That's why it's better to eat up to six small meals a day - that helps keep your metabolism up throughout the day. You will still live if you skip one day without eating, but you will find that your brain cannot function as well, you will become tired, and you already know about the hunger pangs!

Should you have that leftover meatball sub before you hit the hay? Please don't! The problem with eating is that when you eat before bed time, your body will increase it's metabolism, while your brain is excreting melatonin, which is not a good combination to digest foods you ate. This can affect your sleeping habits over time, and promote obesity!

If you eat late at night, you're less likely to eat breakfast in the morning. And that is the most important meal of the day. Breakfast is the first meal you eat, so your body is in need of nourishment, and will absorb food the fastest in the morning. Eating before bed does not benefit you there.

Eating just before bed can cause psychological distress! Ok, so I checked out a magazine here. But there are some good points I want to share with you. Besides the fact that a midnight snack can disrupt your sleeping habits, you also may be suseptible to binge eating. Australian researchers found that many night eaters reported waking from sleep specifically to snack. Sleep is extremely important, and you need to get a good night's rest. But waking up at 3:00 am to go to the bathroom due to indigestion is not going to help you get some rest!

Last but not least... sleeping promotes obesity, like stated earlier. When you eat late at night, you're less likely to grab an orange or an apple to snack on, and more likely to grab a sandwich! When sleeping, the fats and carbs you consume are more likely to be stored as fat, not be burned as energy as that blog post claims.

But I know for some of you, it's not easy to pull out of this habit. Either you have a busy schedule or the hunger pangs are just killing you, and you need to eat something to satify your stomach. Remember miscellar casein protein? It's not a food you need to digest, it's a protein drink, a slow digesting protein drink, so you won't have to worry about indigestion. You're also feeding your muscles with protein, for up to 7hrs, so it helps build mass!

You might know what's coming up next - time to advertise! I myself drink casein protein, and it's helped me to pack on some mass (along with a brutal workout regimen and a good diet, but not great xD). I suggest reaching for a tub of 100% Casein instead of some leftover spaghetti and meatballs. Your mind and body will thank you for it!