Eating before bed = poor sleep?

[Nauticus]

My eating schedule during the day has been sporadic, ending with some peanut butter and milk 30 minutes before bed. For the past few months, sleep has been inconsistent. I'll lay in bed for 30 minutes trying to first fall asleep; then sleep for 2 hours; then wake up and lay there for another 30 minutes until my restless mind shuts off and I can doze off again.

As you can guess, under 7 hours of sleep makes for a shitty mood and ugly workouts. For the past two days, though, I've been sleeping pretty damned well. I suspected that eating too close to bedtime gave me energy that I did not need before sleeping, so I've been eating more at dinnertime and nothing afterwards. As bedtime approaches, I feel more tired and my sleep goes uninterrupted.

Has anyone else experienced the same thing? Maybe just a placebo, but I'll take whatever works..

[usafa407]

I tend to have my last meal about 2-3 hours before going to bed so this generally isn't a problem for me. Have you noticed any change in your recovery since cutting out the PM meal?

[Nauticus]

I tend to have my last meal about 2-3 hours before going to bed so this generally isn't a problem for me. Have you noticed any change in your recovery since cutting out the PM meal?

Since I've only gone 1 workout since doing this, I can't say for sure if it's affecting my recovery. But I'm almost confident it is. Today's workout felt focused, and my mind didn't feel full of sludge. I'm beginning to think that food can only help recovery to an extent; sleep is also important in determining the quality of workouts.

[milesdyson]

Only if it leads to you having to wake up to Defecate. Waxy maize and its high molecular weight leads to just this for me, so if I work out a little bit later than my usual time I'll scrap the maize so I don't have to get up in the middle of the night to drop an epic deuce. I still eat plenty of solid food though. My body can handle slow carbs and food based protein, but the maize really seems to go right through me.

[hatmanii]

Your body has to work to digest the food your eating, so it very well could be affecting your sleep. I'd keep the bedtime snack in place but push it back so that you are eating it at most an hour before sleeping.

[Rorschach]

WTF? And miss all that digesting time?

[Dastardly]

Maybe I am just a little odd but I always eat something directly before hitting the sack.

Sometimes this is a big meal followed by a caffeiniated hot drink, other times it may just be some peanut butter and milk.

I would find it difficult to sleep without these things, I need food to feel satiated and able to relax into sleep.

[METAL VIPER]

I always have cottage cheese and milk before bed, sometimes with peanut butter and I have never had problems falling or staying asleep, but your mileage may vary.

[MazdaMatt]

I sleep like a baby if I get home late and have a huge meal before bed. Last night i had salmon and a pint of milk, washed the dishes and went to bed. Slept like a rock (which is unusual for me).

[nisora33]

A meal high in carbohydrates can boost serotonin levels. Increased serotonin can make you sleeeeeepy.

-S.