Problems with falling asleep – where do they come from?
Proper and sufficiently long sleep is essential for optimal body functioning. Therefore, if you notice any disturbances connected with falling asleep, it is worth investigating the cause.
Problems with falling asleep – where do they come from?
There are two main reasons why many people have great difficulty falling asleep, or conversely, waking up. The first is organic and is mainly related to pain. When you suffer from chronic pain, it is necessary to go to the appropriate specialist, who will help to determine its basis and cure it. However, it is worth remembering that the causes of insomnia coming from the body can also be related to other issues, such as eating heavy meals. In such a situation, the digestive system encounters great difficulty in “quieting down.”
The second type of cause that may be behind trouble sleeping is psychological. They may be related to perceived fear, stress, anxiety, or depression. In such a situation, although the person suffering from insomnia very much wants to fall asleep, it is not possible. Since it takes a long time to fall asleep, the deep sleep phase is significantly shortened, leading to a constant feeling of sleeplessness.
How does food affect sleep?
You should be aware that eating heavily in the evening can be one of the most straightforward causes of sleep problems. When you eat foods that are hard to digest or just plain hearty, your body needs to digest them before going to a well-deserved rest. However, due to your busy schedule, this process can take a very long time. Thus, one encounters difficulty in sleeping due to prolonged digestion of food.
As we mentioned above, this is one of the easiest to mitigate and the most common causes of insomnia. Fortunately, dealing with this trouble requires only and as much as changing eating habits, without the need for pain management or psychotherapy.
Unfortunately, this trouble occurs frequently. With a full day at work, many people find it challenging to find time for a proper meal that would keep them supplied with the right amount of calories. As a result, they get hungry in the evening and start gradually emptying the refrigerator. The human body works so that when it feels hungry, it looks for food with high-calorie content. This makes many people, for example, scramble a few eggs and eat a few slices of bread or a whole loop of sausage shortly before going to bed. These foods provide a quick and easy supply of calories and nutrients, so you subconsciously feel the urge to eat them.
What should a daily menu look like?
According to many studies, it is safest to have a light dinner two hours before going to bed. What is essential, the number of calories consumed at the last meal should not exceed 20% of the total daily requirements. As you can easily calculate, with the total demand of 2000 kcal, the dinner should not have more than 400. This means a really light meal.
Simultaneously, the calorie count is not the only thing you should pay attention to (although it is a fundamental issue). You should also bet on meals that are easy to digest. This way, you can be sure that the food consumed has actually been processed by the body before bedtime.
What to choose for dinner?
As you can see, choosing the right meal for the evening time is not at all obvious. It is worth betting on dishes that are not subjected to robust processing, such as frying. It is also better to avoid various types of cheese because the salt in them can also cause problems with falling asleep.
A great, although still not very popular among Poles, a meal for the evening time are homemade soups. Relatively low in calories, easy to digest, and nutritious at the same time, they can successfully supplement the daily needs of the body. However, many people consider it a pure dinner dish and therefore are reluctant to take soup as part of the dinner.
A protein shake in your favorite flavor that can be prepared in a matter of moments is also a great idea. This is an ideal option for people who come home very hungry and lack time to create soups or other last-minute meals. Protein supplements ensure an optimal supply of calories and nutrients to the body.
At the same time, it is worth remembering that eating a lot in the evening has a negative impact not only on falling asleep but also on the general condition of the body. Eating large meals shortly before going to sleep causes, among other things, the accumulation of excessive amounts of fat on the body.
What else is worth remembering?
If you have more severe problems falling asleep, you should avoid substances that can make the process even more difficult. This means, for example, not drinking stimulating drinks such as energy drinks or coffee, but also black tea.
If complete abstinence from caffeine is, for some reason, not possible, it should be strictly avoided, at least in the afternoon and evening. In this way, it is possible to prevent unpleasant discomforts related to difficulty falling asleep. However, it is worth remembering that this decision must be persistent: even one energy drink drunk in the evening can destroy the effects of work.
Instead of the drinks mentioned above, you can drink, among other things, herbal infusions or water. Thanks to them, the body will remain adequately hydrated, but there will be no situation in which it will be stimulated.
