Eating Yogurt Before Bed Has A Peculiar Impact On The Body That We’re Just Learning

There’s a lot of fascinating information on the way, folks, so we hope you’re ready! It could change your approach to late-night eating going forward. Anyway, let’s get into it — what do doctors have to say about seemingly healthy midnight snacks such as broccoli and yogurt? Are they ideal or not?

Well, it might surprise you to hear that one of those food items isn’t as helpful as you’d think. We won’t leave you in suspense... it’s broccoli. How can that be? Surely a nutritious snack should be beneficial for your body whenever you eat it, right? As it turns out, that’s not the case here.

Even though broccoli is a vitamin-heavy veggie, it contains plenty of “insoluble fiber” as well. In simple terms, that means it won’t digest all that quickly. It’s similar to cauliflower in that respect, which is in the same vegetable family. You can throw kale, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts in there, too.

So, what happens if you chow down on a plate of broccoli prior to hitting the hay? A food expert named Elissa Goodman went into more detail while speaking to the Delish website. She said, “Your body will still be working on digesting it while you drift off.” In other words, good luck getting the rest you need!

But broccoli isn’t the only food that’ll cause you problems in that regard. Yes, there’s plenty more to consider, so grab a pen and paper. You’ll want to remember all this for the future! Let’s start with red meat. When it comes to midnight snacks, this one is a definite no-no.

Regardless of how delicious a late-night slice of beef might be, it’s packed full of protein. So, much like with broccoli, your body will be working overtime to digest it — which isn’t good news if you’re hoping to get some sleep. Stick with the red meat for dinner then, folks.

Speaking of which, you should also avoid cured meats in the evening. Why’s that? Simple — these tasty slices house an amino acid known as tyramine. As soon as that gets in your system, you become more attentive. You can probably see how problematic that is! Certain types of cheese are the same, as well.

That might explain why night-time platters leave you wide awake, but the list doesn’t end there. Sauces rich with tomato can have an identical effect, albeit for different reasons. Tomatoes are very acidy, which can spark discomfort in your stomach. Do you really want to deal with that before bed?

We can’t forget about heartburn, either. There are few things worse than waking up with that horrible sensation in the morning! Mind you, while tomato sauce should be struck from your midnight menus, it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it come dinnertime. You just need to map out a schedule.

Yep, food specialist Alissa Rumsey informed Delish that tomatoey dishes such as pasta should be consumed some three hours ahead of bed-time. Any less than that, and you could have a long night on the horizon. Who wants that?! And the same can be said for spicy meals, as well.

As per Delish, hot dishes “raise your core body temperature” after you finish them. That’s bad news if you’re preparing for bed — you’ll be struggling to get comfortable long into the night. So, like we mentioned earlier, there’s lots to swerve. But we’ve got one more item to add to the line-up.

Yep, dark chocolate is another very bad choice for a late-night snack. Sure, it’s delicious to munch on, but those pieces house quite a bit of caffeine. That’s the last thing you want in your system in the evening. Plus, much like cured meats, the ingredients include an amino acid that’ll raise your alertness.

It’s not the greatest of combinations, right? Sleep is the last thing you’ll be getting after that trip to the kitchen! Anyway, now that we know about the big offenders, let’s switch our focus to the next major question. What happens to your body off the back of a shoddy night’s rest?

We’ll be blunt here — it isn’t good, folks. There’s a long list of ill-effects that range from short-term annoyance to worrying health problems in the future. So, let’s start with the former first. The Healthline website notes that mental fogginess often follows a lack of shut-eye going into the next day.

That was further highlighted when the Experimental Brain Research journal shared a paper on the subject. In that report, 18 test subjects were asked to finish a job after getting a normal evening of rest. Then, they had to do something else off the back of no sleep, with the authors comparing the results.

In the end, it was found that the test subjects’ decision-making, memories, critical-thinking, and rationalization all took a hit. Wow. On top of that, the lack of sleep made them less attentive, too. Talk about eye-opening results. And there’s also another aspect of memory that could get affected by this.

As per Healthline, a tired mind can struggle to retain new information across the day. Experts believe that rest plays a key role for our brains to cement facts and snippets that are picked up in the hours before. That’s why you don’t want a late night ahead of an early morning test!

But your brain function isn’t the only thing that suffers. For instance, a research paper found that those who get under five hours sleep every evening have a higher chance of packing on unwanted weight. Meanwhile, a different report flagged up wavering libidos using the same time measurement as well.

If that doesn’t make you mindful of your midnight snack choices, though, these next things might just do it. Yep, the European Heart Journal shared research that suggested fewer hours in bed could have a detrimental effect on the vital organ. No joke, folks. Again, it’s around the five-hour mark.

Specifically, the information claimed that risks of strokes and coronary heart disease would go up with a lack of sleep. Scary stuff, right? Who could’ve seen that coming? But it doesn’t end there.

The organization stated that prolonged spells without a good night’s rest raises your chances of developing tumors and other malignancies in one's prostate, breast, and colon. Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, Healthline revealed that you can become diabetic thanks to a lack of shut-eye, as well. There’s no let-up here!

So, as you can see, getting an uninterrupted evening of sleep is absolutely pivotal for your health. But that brings us back to our first question from earlier. Can a late-night helping of yogurt have an effect on your rest? Should it join the list of foods that we spoke about before?

The short answer? Nope! As it turns out, standard yogurt might actually be the best choice when it comes to picking “healthy” midnight snacks. Why’s that, then? Well, to go into more detail on the subject, a health specialist spoke to the Food Network website. Her name is Edwina Clark.

Clark said, “A bowl of Greek yogurt and fruit provides all the creamy sweetness of ice cream without the added fat and sugar. And yogurt is rich in probiotics, which may help settle the stomach. And [it] is also a source of the amino acid tryptophan, which helps regulate circadian rhythms.”

Now, there’s a chance that you may have heard about tryptophan before. It can also be found in turkey meat. The belief is that the amino acid plays a key role in encouraging people to fall asleep. Perhaps that explains why we become so tired after Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners!

The science behind it certainly suggests there’s a connection. Apparently, tryptophan aids the production of melatonin and serotonin in the human body. In case you weren’t aware, those are the hormones that aid our “sleep regulation.” So, some late-night spoons of plain yogurt could be hugely helpful in that regard.

As Clark noted, though, tryptophan isn’t the only positive thing to mull over. We can’t forget about the probiotics she mentioned, either. If you don’t know what they are, try not to fret — we’ll talk you through it! The term describes living microorganisms that help the inside of your body after ingestion.

Anyway, here’s where it gets intriguing. According to Harvard Women’s Health Watch, yogurt’s probiotics mirror the jobs of proteins already found in your stomach. That means a helping of the dairy product could keep the organ running smoothly for a time. Plus, it might also stave off potential health problems.

As per a report found in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2004, one of yogurt’s microorganisms is “lactic acid-producing bacteria.” It’s otherwise known as LAB. The paper claimed that this bacteria could ease the discomfort caused by stomach illnesses and assist overall digestion. Pretty cool, wouldn’t you agree?

So, how does that tie back to rest? Well, a different research paper from 2015 drew an interesting connection. According to the report, which was published in the Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology journal, a link was established “between gastrointestinal issues and problems sleeping.” Could yogurt be the key to solving it?

But wait — there’s more! In addition to the probiotics, yogurt is jam-packed with calcium, too. Now, this mineral is arguably best known for maintaining the health of human bones. That isn’t all it does, though. The Livestrong website reports that you’ll sleep better when it’s in your system as well, which is another plus.

So yes, there’s lots of positives to making yogurt your late-night snack of choice. Yet at the same time, some of you might be a little reluctant. And we can’t say we blame you, to be honest. After all, the dairy product by itself with no additives isn’t the tastiest thing you can eat.

There is a way around that, though. As opposed to buying a tub of “sweetened” yogurt at the store, you can improve the taste of a standard batch with a bit of clever thinking. All you need is a handful of berries — it doesn’t matter if they’re out of the freezer or fresh from the fruit bowl.

Mind you, much like the yogurt, the berries shouldn’t contain sweeteners, either. That’s important to remember. But assuming they’re okay, stick them in the stuff and stir it up. Thanks to that simple move, you’ve now got a sweet snack full of flavor that’s just as healthy as it was beforehand.

But you don’t just have to rely on berries to boost the taste. As per the Mashed website, items such as stevia can also sweeten up standard yogurt without detracting from its health benefits. So long as the additives are “natural-based,” there shouldn’t be an issue. Why not give it a try?

And if you’re not a fan of sweet flavors, there’s an alternative way to perk up the yogurt. Yep, you can give it more bite by creating a homemade tzatziki sauce. The dairy product will serve as the base ingredient, before you throw in a host of other items to the mix.

To get the best results, drop a bit of salt into the yogurt, as well as lemon. Then, grab a bit of cucumber and shred it into tiny pieces, placing them in the bowl, too. After that, just stir it all together. Now, you’ve got yourself a delicious dip to enjoy before going to sleep.

As for what you can nibble with the sauce, there’s a host of healthy options. Carrots, cucumbers, celery, and bell peppers are all okay to use. In fact, any sort of crunchy veggie can be called upon here. Whatever the choice, it’ll taste fantastic. Our mouths are watering just thinking about it!

So there you have it, folks. If you’re looking to say goodbye to your late-night red meat snacks or dark chocolate nibbles, ordinary yogurt is the way to go. As we’ve established, that’s not as dull as it sounds. Your body and its sleeping pattern will thank you for it in the long-run!