Psychologist Deborah Switch, studying human sleep, insomnia, and the factors that affect it for 35 years, has compiled a list of drinks that improve sleep and should be avoided before it.
Have you ever noticed that some drinks help you feel energetic, while others, on the contrary, promote drowsiness? According to Deborah Switch, the explanation is that all drinks have a certain effect on well-being. So, let’s look at a list of drinks that she advises to drink before bed, and which she advises to avoid.
The best drinks to improve sleep
Cherry juice
After drinking a glass of cherry juice at bedtime, you can fall asleep much faster. It is also recommended for night shift workers to fall asleep easier in the morning.
Chamomile tea or tea with passion fruit pieces
This tea will help make your sleep calmer. Don’t forget to add some honey to it and drink it 90 minutes before bedtime.
Milk
A glass of milk at bedtime (90 minutes) will help you fall asleep faster. You can warm it up or drink it cold – it depends on your preferences.
Water
Water is the most important drink that should be drunk not only at bedtime but throughout the day to maintain good health. However, remember that a glass of water before bed will stimulate your kidneys, and because of this you can wake up during the first few hours of sleep.
Drinks to avoid before bed
Alcohol
Of course, at first, it seems that alcohol also causes drowsiness, but in fact, it is its destroyer. Some people like to drink a glass of wine after a hard day’s work and sit in front of the TV to relax, and at this point, they fall asleep. But waking up after a while to finally go to bed and sleep until morning will be much harder. Such evening naps destroy the internal clock.
Some people use alcohol as a sedative. Yes, after it they fall asleep quickly, but after 3-4 hours, usually wake up. After that, it is very difficult to fall asleep again, and even if you succeed, they constantly wake up during the night, and as a result – feel weak and tired in the morning, although they slept 7-8 hours.
And drinking alcohol at bedtime can cause snoring and sleep apnea (temporary cessation of breathing during sleep).
Coffee
It is no secret that the reason for drinking coffee is a feeling of fatigue and drowsiness. And as soon as after 3-4 hours its effect disappears, we again reach for a cup of hot drink to regain strength. However, regular consumption of coffee during the day leaves a negative mark on your health. It increases your heart rate and respiration rate, which will make you feel anxious and irritated until the evening.
Daily consumption of caffeinated beverages at bedtime has devastating consequences, one of which is the emergence of tired legs syndrome. Many people feel their legs buzzing by the end of the working day, they feel heaviness, it seems as if they just can’t stand the weight of the body, and drinking coffee closer to the evening will intensify these feelings. Therefore, even lying in bed, you will feel that these symptoms do not pass, and you constantly want to move your legs.
In such cases, it is better to forget about caffeine or at least drink it only in the morning. And remember, when it comes to good healthy sleep, it’s important not only what you drink, but also how and when you do it. Therefore, if you love coffee so much, drink it in the first part of the day, avoid alcohol before bed, and drink cherry juice and chamomile tea or milk 90 minutes before bedtime. And last but not least – stop drinking any fluid 1 hour before bedtime to minimize its disturbance during the first few hours, when sleep is deepest and the body recovers after a busy day.
