Many people know which foods can help promote sleep, but few know that some foods not only do not contribute to sleep, but can actually cause insomnia.
A random survey conducted by the internationally renowned TNS market research company among 2,657 citizens aged 15-69 in six cities—Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Tianjin, Hangzhou, and Guangzhou—showed that Guangzhou has the highest adult insomnia rate, reaching 68%. Experts believe that an unreasonable diet structure, high psychological stress, and poor sleep habits are the main reasons for the high probability of insomnia.
"The reason why an unreasonable diet structure is one of the main causes is not only due to the irrational nutritional combination of foods, but also because many people consume foods at dinner that can easily affect sleep quality, such as sweet potatoes, peas, corn, and chili peppers," said Xiong Xinying, chief physician of the Department of Neurology at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital.
Many people know which foods can help promote sleep, but few know that some foods not only do not contribute to sleep, but can actually cause insomnia. Now is the season for roasted sweet potatoes, and their sweet and fragrant taste is a delight. However, eating too much of these foods for dinner is very likely to cause insomnia. This is because foods like sweet potatoes, corn, and peas produce a significant amount of gas during digestion. By bedtime, undigested gas can cause bloating, which interferes with normal sleep.
In addition to foods that have a satiating effect and substances like coffee and tea that stimulate the central nervous system, some spicy and salty foods, such as spicy snacks and garlic bread, can also affect sleep quality. Spicy foods not only easily cause a burning sensation in the stomach and indigestion, but they also consume sleep-promoting substances in the body during digestion, thereby affecting sleep.
Greasy foods can also cause insomnia, because the digestion of greasy foods increases the workload on the intestines, stomach, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas, stimulating the central nervous system and keeping it in a working state, which delays sleep time.
Dinner should preferably be light in flavor, and it is more appropriate to finish dinner before 8 PM.
Related link: Foods that promote sleep include bananas, milk, oatmeal, whole wheat bread, daylilies, celery, longans, sunflower seeds, vinegar, etc.