Sleep scientist Dr Cheri Mah reveals the food you should never eat before bed as it will destroy your slumber

A sleep scientist has discovered that the food you eat before bed disrupts your sleep.

Dr. Cheri Mah, a San Francisco, California-based professor at the Stanford Sleep Medicine Center, spoke with Dragon’s Den star Steven Bartlett on his podcast The Diary Of a CEO.

The mother of one child suggested that people should avoid alcohol, caffeine, fried foods, sugary carbs and tomato-based foods before bed as these can trigger heartburn if they want to optimise their sleep.

She said: ‘What we eat can affect our sleep… the stages of our sleep or how we sleep at night. Some smaller studies have shown that what you eat can affect whether you wake up more during the night, which in turn affects the quality of your sleep.

‘I think we’re starting to understand the connection between what we eat and how our gut responds to it,how that could potentially affect your sleep and ultimately your daytime functioning the next day.

But we ‘I recognize from studies on sleep deprivation that people make different food choices later in the evening and reach for cookies and ice cream than when they are well rested.’

Dr. Cheri revealed that there are ways to wind down before bed to help you sleep better, and she said it’s important to calm a “racing mind.”

She said, ‘What I would recommend is spending 10 minutes every night outside of bed, in low light, just processing your thoughts. I would recommend doing some stretching and deep breathing exercises to activate your parasympathetic system and turn down your sympathetic system.’

Your parasympathetic nervous system is a network of nerves that relaxes your body after periods of stress or danger.

The sympathetic nervous system is best known for its role in responding to dangerous or stressful situations.

The parasympathetic system essentially undoes the work of the sympathetic division after a stressful situation.

She added: “That’s what I recommend to a lot of my athletes. If that’s not your thing, I recommend journaling, writing down your thoughts, or making a to-do list. Those are easy things that we can all do, even if you start with five minutes today.

‘It’s easier to gently slam on the brakes and try to sleep than if you’re driving 60 miles an hour on the highway and then suddenly slam on the brakes and go to bed. So you actually have a process to calm yourself down. It will help prepare you for a better night’s sleep.’

Dr Cheri spoke to Dragon’s Den star Steven Bartlett (pictured) on his podcast The Diary Of a CEO

Tips to fall asleep and sleep better

Insomnia means that you have trouble sleeping regularly. It can get better by changing your sleeping habits.

One in three adults in the UK and almost half of adults in the US suffer from insomnia, while millions more report being unable to sleep at night.

Long-term sleep deprivation can lead to obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Insomnia can be caused by stress, anxiety, alcohol, caffeine or nicotine, noise, shift work, and jet lag.

If you regularly have trouble sleeping, there are simple ways to improve your sleep hygiene.

Ensure regular sleeping hours

• Try to go to bed when you feel tired and get up at the same time every day.

Create a relaxing space

• In a dark, quiet and cool environment it is generally easier to fall asleep and stay asleep.

Get moving

• Exercise is good for your physical health and your mind. It can also help you sleep better. Just don’t do intense exercise too close to bedtime.

Don’t force it

• If you find yourself unable to fall asleep, get up and do something relaxing for a while, then go back to bed when you feel sleepier.

Write down your worries

• If you find yourself lying awake at night worrying about your worries, write them down before you go to sleep.

Reduce caffeine

• Alcohol and caffeine can prevent you from falling asleep and sleeping deeply. Drinking less caffeine right before bed and drinking less alcohol can help you fall asleep.

Source NHS

Dr. Cheri also revealed that research has shown that school actually starts too early for children.

She said, ‘IThis year was the first in California to start school much later for middle and elementary schools, as research has shown that students who are better rested tend to attend more often.

“Their GPA and grades are much higher, there are fewer mental health problems, there are fewer car accidents. These studies have been conducted over the last decade or more and have gathered evidence that helps inform decisions about starting school later.

‘By high school age, many of those biological clocks have shifted, and so students naturally want to go to bed later and wake up later.

“That’s just how our sleep changes over the life cycle. But if they stay up late and then we force them to get up really early for school, they’re not getting enough sleep. That builds up as a sleep debt and so they’re not setting themselves up for success in school in terms of learning and memory.

She concluded, “If we can shift the school start time, we can get these students to get a little more sleep. Ultimately, they’re better prepared for school, they’re better at school, they have fewer car accidents, and they’re just healthier students.”