Good sleep habits are not just about what you add to your day. Avoiding or limiting certain foods and drinks can have a great impact on the length and quality of your sleep. Here are some additional diet tips for better sleep.

Coffee, or Any Drink With Caffeine: Lots of us use coffee to help get through the day but the same qualities that make people go for a cup of joe also can make it hard to sleep. The stimulating effects of coffee are caused by caffeine, one of sleep’s worse enemies. 

If you are a coffee drinker, experts suggest that you should aim to stop drinking coffee 8 hours before bedtime. So if you usually go to bed around 11 o’clock, you can try to plan to stop drinking coffee around 3pm.

So, other beverages with caffeine, such as green or black tea, energy drinks and any type of soda may not help you wind down for a good night’s sleep. 

Sugar: Eating sugar too close to bedtime can disrupt your sleep schedule. 

Any sugar can cause blood levels to spike up and down. If you have sugar right before bed, you may feel a burst of energy that will make it hard to fall asleep. Once you are asleep, your blood sugar levels will decrease. This shift could cause you to wake you up in the middle of the night. 

So, you may want to reconsider the late night ice-cream or leftover cake before hitting the hay.

Alcohol: People tend to think that alcohol helps them fall asleep; this is true sometimes, but even if you do fall asleep, alcohol also tends to decrease the quality of sleep. 

Studies show that when people consume alcohol within the 3 hours before bedtime, they tend to sleep more lightly and wake up more often throughout the night. This is going to lead to a lower quality sleep, which can make you even more tired the next day. 

Cruciferous Vegetables: Cruciferous vegetables are excellent for your health generally. But, they’re not going to help your body get a good night’s sleep. 

These types of vegetables include broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. While they are super nutritious, they are very high in fiber. Because of this, it takes bodies a long time to digest them completely. If you eat them right before bed, your body will be awake digesting, and won’t be able to go into rest-mode. 

Citrus Fruits + Juices: While fruits with lots of citrus, like oranges, grapefruits, lemons etc are fantastic foods for overall health, they may not be the best nighttime juices to drink. 

Citrus juices and fruits are loaded with sugar. As we discussed before, loading your body up on sugar is a sure way to stay awake. 

However, citrus juices and fruits can keep you up for other reasons, too. The citrus flavors in fruits like oranges or lemons enhance mental stimulation and boosts energy levels. So while they’re amazing to consume when you wake up in the morning, they’re not going to help you get a calm, quality sleep. 

Another problem is the acid. Citrus fruits are very acidic. While drinking or eating lots of acid isn’t going to help anyone get a good night’s sleep, for those who struggle with acid reflux, drinking a glass of OJ or a lemon tea before bed might keep you up all night. 

Next, find out more tips on how to sleep the best.