Which Is Better To Sleep On A Full Or Empty Stomach?

Some people are in favor of this and others are against it, which causes many debates. Is it better to sleep on a full stomach or an empty one? In reality, neither of these extremes are good. Find out more in the following article.
This wrong belief is based on the hypothesis that “whatever you eat for dinner makes you fat”, which is why people think that going to bed without eating is better. However, the emptiness feeling will make you devour anything in the fridge in the morning or make you wake up in the middle of the night for a “midnight snack”, which isn’t good for your body because instead of eating an apple, you will probably want some leftovers or something fried.

The way the human body works can tell you what the best habits to follow are. Going to bed hungry or without eating guarantees a night without shut eye or sleeping very poorly. The next day, the consequences will be much worse than what you, especially if you do this everyday.

So, as they always say, extremes aren’t good. What they suggest is eating and letting a few hours go by once you finish dinner before you go to bed. If it is already too late to eat dinner, don’t make the mistake of not having a bite to eat, instead go for lighter food, like soups, yogurt and cereal, tea with toast, etc. But under no circumstances should you go to bed on an empty stomach.

Studies say that the amount of time you should wait between eating and going to bed is an hour and a half. During this lapse, you can use it to wash dishes, read, study, watch a little bit of television (but not too much), chat with your spouse, clean your house, prepare your outfit for the next day, etc. A dinner rich in carbohydrates and low in protein is best. Stay away from saturated fat, because they just make your digestion slower, as well as cause gas and discomfort while trying to sleep.

If you get home late from work or school, and you ask yourself if you should eat dinner this late or if it’s best to just “push through it” and go straight to bed, don’t. Eat something light, but never go to bed with an empty stomach. Scientific studies say that this can cause sleep loss and problems in decomposing muscle mass at night. Being hungry makes your brain stay alert. When you don’t sleep enough, your metabolism is reduced and Ghrelin levels increase, which is a hormone that stimulates appetite and causes you to wake up and eat more, without measuring the quantities or what you are eating.

Going to bed without eating or hungry causes you to sleep less and is bad if you want to build muscle. When your body is deprived of nutrients for a long time, it breaks muscles to get energy. If you want to lose weight, it isn’t a good idea to not eat at night or skip meals.

The Disadvantages of Sleeping on a Full Stomach
On the other side of what we just explained, there are some people that stuff themselves with food at dinner and then go to bed feeling as if they weight 10 pounds more. When you fill yourself with food, it accumulates in your stomach, which is the organ in charge of producing enzymes and acids for digestion. Blood goes directly to this area and can make you feel like sleeping. However, you should wait a moderate amount of time before going to bed, whether you will be watching television o reading.

Eating a lot and going to bed right away not only causes you to be overweight but also acidity, that feeling of “fire” in your stomach, problems with falling asleep, nightmares, etc. But be careful, because dinner by itself doesn’t make you fatter. It depends on the amount and the food that you eat at night. Nutritionists say that it’s best to stop eating carbohydrates at least four hours before going to bed and to wait at least two hours between dinner and bedtime.