How to Eat If You Want Better Sleep

https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-to-eat-if-you-want-better-sleep-11585138783

by prostoalex • 6 years ago

61 20 6 years ago

wsj.com

tn890• 6 years ago

The whole article is behind a paywall. I don't understand how I'm supposed to read it.

austinjp• 6 years ago

http://archive.is/xztOi

23202586• 6 years ago

thank you

Melting_Harps• 6 years ago

I think this is an entirely relative situation, I've only eaten once a day for nearly 10 years now and to be honest its pretty close to when I fall asleep, often after having worked 8-12 hours in physical job and 2-3 hours at the gym. I can eat between 2-5000 calories in one sitting depending on how stressed/tired or ultimately hungry I felt.

I went several years sleeping only 3-4 hours a day in my 20s. I'm more reluctant to do that now in my 30s and it was almost never by choice, but what was always a constant is that I normally only ate until moments I was about to fall asleep. And I'm entirely healthy and have way more energy than people in my age group and as much as 7-8 years younger than myself.

It does take me longer to fully recover from an injury or cold these days than when I was in my teens or even 20s, and while I really enjoy sleep (I spent significantly more on a bed when I was 21 than what I spent going to the bar in the following 4 years) and food I don't think its an absolute that its an absolute to keep the 2 so separate to achieve those goals.

I have an incredibly fast metabolism, too. I still have to workout on a regular basis and eat 3k+ calories to just keep my weight constant. I think I'm one of the few in my group of friends whose actually lost weight during this lockdown.

Now that gyms are starting to open up I need to get a few session in to see just how much of that was muscle loss as I barely kept up with any routine due to having bad joints in my upper body.

raun1• 6 years ago

Eating close to sleep disrupts fatty acid metabolism and is generally not a good idea. If I remember correctly, it also lowers melatonin.

pengaru• 6 years ago

... "I'm entirely healthy" ...

... "bad joints in my upper body" ...

AbenezerMamo• 6 years ago

This is great!!

magneticnorth2• 6 years ago

One of the things recommended is a drink right before bed that includes 1/2 cup of full fat coconut milk plus some coconut oil - it probably tastes great but I have a hard time believing their claim that it's good to drink that every night before bed.

cachestash2• 6 years ago

Its a sure way to gain some belly fat.

cachestash2• 6 years ago

paywall.

magneticnorth2• 6 years ago

http://archive.is/xztOi

Darmody2• 6 years ago

I've been thinking for a few weeks to change my diet to avoid having high sugar spikes and keep my energy high throughout the whole day.

When I workout I use to eat 5 times a day and a snack with a high glycemic index (like a handful of raisins) during workout or I'm unable to keep up. That's probably because all the energy from my last meal which is usually 3 hours before my workout is gone.

I'm the kind of person who loses weight on a normal diet that someone else would gain weight and my body fat is around 13-14%. My problem, as I said, is keeping the same levels of energy during the day.

I'll probably start by eating 2 times a day. High protein meals with veggies and some whole grains with a low glycemic index to see how it goes.

fzil• 6 years ago

I have the same problem as you do, not being able to keep same energy levels throughout the day. I realized my diet was too carb heavy (white rice, 2x a day usually) and I was able to somewhat counter that by high protein snacks (handful of almonds) between meals.

I got the idea from a book called "Why isn't my brain working?" by Dr. Datis Kharrazian. There is a chapter in the book detailing some dietary changes that a person should make depending on their blood sugar levels and other factors. I suggest you take a look at this book for some ideas on approaching this problem via diet.

Darmody2• 6 years ago

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll take a look at it.

112358132134552• 6 years ago

They say it should be easy to digest, but they show some complex recipes (many different ingredients) at the end. From my experience at least, less ingredients means easier digestion. I often eat rice only (with the cooking water)

copperx• 6 years ago

(with the cooking water)

All the rice preparation techniques I know involve the water evaporating or being absorbed by the rice. What cooking method preserves cooking water??

MintelIE• 6 years ago

Congee is the only thing I can think of.

112358132134552• 6 years ago

I cook rice in a casserole, the amount of water not absorbed at the end really depends since I don't measure anything (whether quantity of rice nor water), but anyway I add some water at the end to cool stuff down and eat directly in the casserole

AngryData• 6 years ago

Interesting but eating in the cycles recommended makes me feel ill. I can't eat shit in the morning, at best I can sip 100 calories worth of a drink but anything more will make me nauseous and lethargic for hours, maybe sometime after lunch I can eat an okay sized meal, and then I eat the most as a real late dinner, another thing which they say you shouldn't do. And to top all that off, I work physically demanding job, and eating before doing something only makes it worse and feels like it drains stamina, especially breakfast. So I always take these kind of recommendations with a grain of salt, maybe as an overall trend for most people, but just like sleep phases and schedules I don't believe there is a one ideal fit for everyone.

rramadass• 6 years ago

Not enough meat in the article. A very good read on the subject is The Circadian Code by Satchin Panda.

More info: https://www.salk.edu/scientist/satchidananda-panda/ and https://panda.salk.edu/

How to Eat If You Want Better Sleep

Related Stories