We’ve heard it before: Physical exercise, nutrition, sleep, and stress management are the pillars on which to build a healthy life. They all work together; if there’s weakness in one area, the rest aren’t as strong. A balanced diet fuels exercise, which in turn contributes to restful sleep, and so on.
Along those same lines, the way we eat dinner can drastically impact everything else. “Everything revolves around the last meal of the day,” explains Dr. Verónica Sánchez Rivas, endocrinologist and nutrition expert at Womanhood Clinic, “If we are looking for a deep, continuous, and restful night’s sleep, it is essential to consider the quality and quantity of our dinners, as well as the timing.”
The best time to eat dinner
When we eat dinner can drastically impact our sleep, for better or worse. “One of the most powerful recommendations is to eat dinner three to four hours before bedtime,” Sánchez Rivas says. “We should synchronize our bodies with the hours of light and dark.”
If eating dinner four whole hours before bed sounds impossibly early, consider this: Eating and digestion stimulates metabolic pathways that involve several organs and systems—from the brain to the intestines. “The activity of the liver, pancreas, and heart influence body temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, hormones, and enzymes in order to digest what we eat and drink,” Sánchez Rivas says.
Absorbing all the nutrients in our food also involves the microbiota, the storage and transportation of amino acids, cholesterol, triglyceride esters, glycogen, and more. According to Sánchez Rivas, “the process of eating dinner ignites the entire orchestra of digestion and all of that contributes to whether or not we get a good rest.”
All those electrical and chemical signals sent from the stomach to the brain, heart, and intestines use up a lot of energy, which is accentuated by additional blood flow to the entire digestive tract. “This is why, when we eat a dinner rich in fats, sauces, sweets, and alcohol, we may initially feel drowsy and fall asleep quickly,” Sánchez Rivas explains. “However, we don’t usually sleep that well afterwards—nocturnal awakenings will be constant, especially during the early hours of the morning.” This is because these foods are potent sleep disruptors, igniting an endocrine response that raises insulin, cortisol, and dopamine levels—all which do not promote the calm and quiet state our bodies require to stay fast asleep.
The perfect dinner does exist
Aina Candel, dietician and nutritionist, agrees. “During the night, the body repairs tissues, consolidates memory, and regulates appetite and stress hormones such as leptin, ghrelin, and cortisol,” she says.
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