12 foods that keep you awake at night

If you feel restless at night, it could be because you've consumed  the wrong foods recently. Not every food is considered good before bedtime and can trigger insomnia.

When it comes to certain foods that keep you awake, you'll be surprised to find that certain vegetables can make you cranky. Certified health coach Sarah Leandro for LifeHack talked about 12 foods that are bad for sleep and should be avoided in the evening.

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1. Alcohol. This statement can be confusing as alcohol can put people to sleep if consumed just before bedtime. However, when people fall asleep after drinking alcohol, they don't get the best quality of sleep that night and wake up between periods of sleep.

The body's circadian rhythm is one of the ways in which the body regulates sleep. Alcohol interferes with this rhythm, giving the body some difficulty: it can't decide when to sleep and when not to.

Recent studies show that alcohol can shorten sleep time by negatively affecting the REM phase of sleep.

2. Fatty foods. There is evidence that fatty foods have a negative effect on sleep. In 2016, scientists agreed that eating a lot of saturated fat makes sleep shallow and not deep enough. This is because our digestive system is not very active when we sleep. Thus, fatty foods can cause some problems when you are ready to sleep, but your stomach has to digest heavy foods.

Avoid fatty and heavy foods such as fried chicken, French fries, mozzarella sticks and potato chips at bedtime.

3. Spicy foods. Spicy food is believed to contain a lot of spices such as chili peppers, mustard, curry, etc. Spices cause sensations bordering on pain and pleasure.

As delicious as spicy food is, it is not good for consumption before bedtime as it will keep you awake at night. There are many reasons why this happens. Some of them include digestive upset, acid reflux and heartburn.

When you eat foods rich in spices, you may notice a slight increase in temperature. It increase may be small, but it affects your sleep.

Plentiful spicy foods can also affect people with digestive problems such as peptic ulcers or heartburn, as they can cause very uncomfortable sensations. For ulcers, spicy foods will cause pain. And in case of heartburn, spicy food can cause slight discomfort in the chest area.

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4. Celery. This vegetable contains almost everything you need from vitamins to antioxidants. It can also reduce inflammation.

But here's why it's considered a bedtime food: it has diuretic properties. That means you might want to visit the restroom more often after eating celery.

5. Foods that contain a lot of salt. Eating foods with excess salt will make your sleep negatively affected.

An article published by the European Society of Endocrinology claims that salt affects the quality of a person's nighttime sleep. People heavily salted before bed had more "shallow" sleep and were prone to sleep disturbances. They either woke up earlier than usual or woke up in the middle of the night to drink water. They woke up with less pleasure and wanted to sleep more during the day because they felt somewhat sleepy and sleep deprived.

The reason for this is that salt causes water retention, especially in large quantities. Make a definite gap between the intake of salty food and the time of sleep.

6. Cruciferous vegetables. Some examples of cruciferous vegetables are arugula, broccoli, white cabbage, greens, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts can reduce your sleep duration and keep you awake at night.

The indigestible sugars in cruciferous vegetables can also cause abdominal bloating because your body has some trouble breaking them down.

7. Beans and other legumes. Since these foods are high in protein and contain enough fiber, it can negatively affect your sleep.

In many people, eating beans causes gas, which means feeling fuller than usual. A lot of gas in your stomach can make you burp more, and can also make finding a comfortable sleeping position quite stressful.

8. Dairy products. This is especially true for people with lactose intolerance. Simply put, lactose intolerance is an impaired ability to digest lactose. It is caused by a deficiency of the enzyme lactase.

Lactose intolerance causes symptoms such as abdominal bloating, stomach pain and sometimes diarrhea when people consume foods rich in lactose. It's best to avoid dairy products or anything high in lactose, especially when it's time to go to bed.

9. Meat (jerky). When it comes to foods to stay away from at bedtime, jerky should be at the top of your list if you have asthma symptoms.

Research has shown that processed meats can make asthma symptoms worse, and since asthma symptoms worsen at night, this leads to trouble.

Also, processed meat is rich in tyramine, which is an amino acid that causes the release of noradrenaline from the body. Noradrenaline is a neurotransmitter that prepares the body for action. It is at its smallest when we are asleep. Hence, any substance that increases its concentration during sleep can significantly disrupt sleep.

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10. Foods with a high glycemic index. Simply put, foods with a high glycemic index raise blood sugar levels. These can cover various foods such as breads, processed meals, foods rich in processed sugar, etc.

Consumption of food containing high amount of processed sugar provokes insomnia. The rise and fall of sugar levels makes your body secrete hormones that can cause sleep disturbance by changing the hormone levels in your body.

If you have diabetes, high-sugar foods can make you want to go to the bathroom more often, impairing the quality of your sleep.

11. Tomatoes. Tomatoes are anti-inflammatory foods that help boost your immune system, but like processed meats, tomatoes are high in tyramine.

This protein causes your brain to release a neurotransmitter called noradrenaline, making your brain more active than it should be when you sleep.

12. Water. You probably already know this, but water can interfere with your sleep. If you drink a lot of water right before bed, you'll feel satiety and the urge to visit the restroom. Waking up between naps can worsen the quality of your sleep.

Earlier UAportal prepared a list of the top five foods that can help keep you young and beautiful. From antioxidant-rich berries to the nutritional properties of leafy greens, here are all the benefits and features of these wonderful ingredients.

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