Good night sleep is one of the best way to live and maintain a healthy lifestyle. And if you don’t get good 7-8 hours sleep every night, you are at risk of getting obese, physically inactive, heart issues and depression to name but a few.

Remember, sleeping adequately at night is as important as consuming healthy food throughout your life. Because sleep is so important and many of us struggle to get a good sleep, so Howmuch decided to look into 5 such foods that are not helping you to sleep.

If you are one of the many Pakistanis who find themselves wishing to get a healthy sleep, you need to stop eating these 5 foods before bedtime.

1: Dark Chocolate

Even though dark chocolate is one of the healthiest food items but it’s not exactly suitable to consume at night time especially if you are already finding it hard to fall asleep. 

Dark chocolate contains caffeine which is far higher in amount than in milk or white chocolate. 

Even some brands have caffeine more than a cup of coffee. In addition to caffeine, dark chocolates have theobromine, which increases the heart rate and causes sleeplessness.

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2: Ice cream and heavy dessert

A tub of ice cream is a big no no during the night time. And there’s a reason behind it because it contains high amount of fat and sugar. 

If you consume ice cream at night time, your body will not have enough time to burn all the fats and may leave you restless all night. 

Consuming fried food and other sugary items may have the same effect and uneasy night sleep. 

These foods are linked to a brain cell called Orexin, which stimulate arousal, alertness and appetite. Thus, leaving consumers with a disruptive sleep at night.

Also read: Everything you need to know about tetra pack milk in Pakistan

3: Spicy Food

Spicy food is known to improve metabolism of your body. And we being Pakistanis have plenty of spices in our daily diet. 

But eating spicy food at dinner is not a good idea especially if you are a night owl. 

Researchers have found that Capsaicin, which is an active ingredient in most spicy peppers may rise up the body temperature in the short span and causing a substandard sleep. 

Spicer food including garlic also cause heartburn in some people leading them to have a restless night.

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4: Salty Food

Foods that contain saturated fats such as chips, salted nuts, pre-packaged meal etc have been proven to decrease the amount and quality of night sleep. 

These salty foods cause sleep deprivation especially when consumed right before bed time. This negative effect is due to the simple fact that there’s a connection between salt and blood pressure, which causes hypertension and excess of water retention in your body.

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5: Cheese / Cheese Pizza

Cheese is linked with bad sleep simply because it takes longer to digest. 

Cheese contains tyramine (a type of amino acid) which stimulates the brain cells and could keep you all night up. 

The consumption of cheese at night may cause migraine in some people and reduce the effectiveness of medication taken at the night time. 

Here’s a piece of advice, if you’d like to eat cheese pizza, make sure you are eating at least three hours before bed time and your sleep won’t be disturbed.

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I know you love food and sleep and they don’t go hand in hand. So the above-mentioned foods are proven to be worst before the bed time. 

Did you experience insomnia after consuming these foods? Share your story in the comment box below.