Food and drinks to avoid before going to bed

If you're hankering for a bedtime snack or beverage, don’t just grab the first thing that sounds good. While some foods — a light, carby snack like crackers or an apple — can actually help your sleep, many others can disrupt your sleep, causing nightmares, an irritated tummy, insomnia and sleep-interrupting trips to the potty, writes foodnetwork.com.

Pizza

You might want to rethink that late-night order for pizza. Pizza is really more than a bedtime snack; eating a second dinner adds a lot of extra calories that you probably don't need.

Coffee

While some people seem able to down a late-night espresso without losing a wink of sleep, most are not so lucky. If caffeine affects your sleep, try not to have any later than six hours before bedtime.

Sugary Cereal

Sugary cereals digest rapidly in your system, so the spike in blood sugar could throw off some of your sleep hormones, and low-fiber diets are linked to lighter sleep.

Spicy Foods

Spicy foods do more than stimulate your taste buds — they also can irritate your stomach (particularly problematic if you're prone to heartburn), which can make it harder to fall asleep or stay asleep.

Soda

Between the bubbles and the possible caffeine, soda is a no-no before bedtime.

Burgers

A heavy, fatty meal like a burger gets your digestive tract working hard, which can be disruptive if you're trying to get to sleep.

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