Diet for Insomniac

Adjusting your diet may improve sleep and help with insomnia

This section contains nutritional advice for insomniacs. Not surprisingly, you will find that suggestions here are similar to most other healthy and well-balanced diets.

As with other aspects of treating insomnia, experiment with suggestions here and see what works for you. Allow your body at least two weeks to adjust before judging the results.

What to Eat

Eat lots of fresh vegetables and salads. Eat them unprocessed, and avoid preprocessed and precooked foods.
Eat lots of whole grain and fiber foods like potatoes, fruits, whole-grain bread and unsweetened sereals. Avoid sugared cereals, cake and white bread.
Eat a variety of foods. There are numerous nutrients, vitamins and minerals your body needs for optimal health. A varied diet will increase the odds of fulfilling those needs.
Limit fatty foods. Eat less (red) meat and more fish and poultry. Cut the fat off of meat before cooking. Avoid fried foods.
Limit sugar intake. Look at the ingredient labels of most foods these days. You will see sugar much more sugar than a body needs. Avoid cakes, cookies, ice cream and candies.

What Not to Eat

Avoid heavily spiced foods in the evening.
Avoid fatty and/or sugary snacks.
Do not each too much salt or sodium rich foods.

When to Eat

To improve the chances of getting good sleep, eat a large breakfast, a moderate lunch, and a light dinner.
Your evening meal should be about four hours before bedtime, and it should include some servings of protein, such as fish, chicken, nuts or beans.
To avoid feeling hungry when doing to sleep, eat low-calorie whole-grain snack about two hours before bedtime.
If you tend to awake during the night feeling hungry, try moving dinner about two hours before bedtime and eat a snack at bedtime.

How Much to Eat

The key idea is to provide your body with just enough nourishment before bedtime to avoid hunger pangs, but do not overindulge in an evening snack.

Water Intake

The actual amount of daily water intake that the human body needs is much in debate. The truth is that the amount of water needed largely depends on many factors, such as the climate/temperature that you are living in, the amount of physical and mental activity, your diet, etc. For example, caffeine and alcohol dehydrate your body, making you thirstier. Additionally, so does spicy food. Not to mention, the water you sweat out during physical exercise needs to be replaced.

To keep your body properly hydrated and avoid waking up thirsty during the night, make sure that you drink enough water during the day. However, be careful to avoid too much water before bedtime. Drinking too much water one hour before bed time can wake you up at night for the need to urinate.