Reasons You Should Never Eat Before Bed

You Might Vomit

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Unfortunately, the position you lie in when you're trying to go to sleep isn't going to allow your food to digest properly; in fact it is very likely that you're food is about to come back up your esophagus and exit your mouth. In other words, you're about to throw up your late night meal.

You'll Get Heartburn

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The contents of your night time snack may press against your stomach muscles if you lie down too soon after food, it may cause acid reflux. This will cause you to suffer with some discomfort, or unusual pains, ultimately ending up with heartburn. You might want to check your drugs cabinet!

You Feel As Though Food Is Trapped

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Unfortunately, it isn't just acid or vomit that may travel back up your esophagus, but some food that hasn't been digested properly may also regurgitate and cause you some discomfort. In fact, in this scenario, you'd actually rather end up vomiting to avoid the hours of issues you might have instead of sleeping.

An Uncomfortable Taste In Your Mouth

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As you might expect with possibilities of acid reflux, heartburn and vomit, it is very possible that you begin tasting some of these flavours in your mouth before, during and after the incident occurring. We all want you to avoid this discomfort so you should definitely keep the fridge closed at night!

It'll Take Longer To Fall Asleep

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If your late night snacks contain a high amount of calories, or high numbers of carbohydrates or fats then it will extend the amount of time it will take you to finally drift off to sleep. We all know how much better we feel when we have a good sleep so maybe use some forward thinking.

You'll Wake Up During The Night

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Some studies have found that eating right before bed can have drastic effects on the nature of your sleep, suggesting that if you eat in or around an hour before your head hits your pillow then you are likely to wake up and struggle to get back to sleep during the night. You could be in for a long one.

It Can Cause Obesity

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A lot of research has been conducted in order to understand whether or not you are able to consume food late at night and it not affect your body weight negatively. Some studies have concluded that eating later in the evening or night can heavily increase your chances of growing obese.

You Won't Have A Regular Routine

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If you are constantly eating before you go to bed then you won't be able to finalise a routine that is beneficial for yourself and your schedule. You don't want to be rolling around all night with insomnia because you couldn't hold off from eating that grilled cheese at 11pm!

You'll Have A Poor Nap

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We've all had the urge to eat before bed, maybe some ice cream or another dessert; but this has been known to cause our sleeps to be of a much poorer state than usual and it might affect the way you feel when you wake up the following morning!

You'll Want More Food

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Typically, when people eat late at night it can be as a result of a craving for something. You should try and get in your daily recommended calories earlier in the day to avoid the feeling for late night food. This way you're more likely to only eat small amounts of food if anything before bed.

Unhealthy Choices

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Unfortunately, there are very few of us who are able to make healthy decisions when it comes to browsing our cupboards or our fridge. And this is one of the main problems when it comes to eating food late at night! It would be much easier to find a routine where you don't eat like this before bed.

You Might Get Indigestion

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Some people react to specific foods giving them indigestion, often those with gluten allergies or other allergen heavy foods. However, you can also get indigestion when you eat late at night and then lie down! This can be very discomforting and you might get some stomach pains.

Increases Sleep Apnea

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If you suffer from sleep apnea then it might be best to avoid any late night snacks, particularly in the hour leading up to the moment you head to bed. Studies have found that any late night food can actually cause an increased number of awakenings. I'm sure sleep apnea alone is enough!

You Could Get Diabetes

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Insulin creation can slow at night, so when you're eating those unhealthy late night snacks it might cause the sugar levels in your body to not be regulated completely. Unfortunately, diabetes occurs when your body is unable to produce or struggles to produce the insulin.

It Can Cause Heart Disease

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This is quite a broad topic, but yes, late night eating can lead to some heart diseases. That's any condition related to the heart including: high blood pressure, arrhythmia and any defects. Junk food at night might lead to narrowed and clogged arteries full of fatty deposits. As any junk food would in general.

It Might Become Too Common

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Most of us probably aren't eating food before bedtime every day, but if you were to do it this way for a prolonged period of time then your body would begin to believe that it was due a late night meal and work around this. If this was the case it'd be very difficult and stressful to break out of the routine.

You'll Feel Groggy The Next Day

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Of course, not surprisingly, if you're getting a lack of sleep then it's not going to be doing you any favours the following morning. When we our bodies are overly tired we often struggle and are unavailable to work to our full potential. You don't want to wake up in a rough mood.

Negative Mood Swings

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As with a number of factors relating to the body, a late night meal time and the impacts it can have may result in you suffering from some mood swings. These could impact on your social life, your work life and also the overall opinion that you have on yourself.

You Could Get Laryngitis

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mage Source: Laryngopedia

We all (most of us) tend to do everything we can to avoid getting ill, it doesn't do us any favours, sometimes even costing us money as we are tied to our beds by illness. So you should know that late night meals can actually have an adverse effect on your voice box, causing laryngitis.

It Could Ruin Your Teeth

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Acid reflux, a common condition following late night eating, can actually affect the health of your mouth, in particular the state of your teeth. We all want to have a bright white smile, but if we aren't careful, our snacking habits could lead to issues including dental erosion!

It Might Go Straight Through You

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Just as food eaten late at night could lead to you vomiting, it may also result in your food coming straight out the other end. Ew. Yeah, digestion really is a weird thing, and sometimes the way we lie can cause our food to need to come out very quickly after eating, again affecting your sleep.

It Could Affect Your Breathing In Later Life

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Eating late obviously poses some nasty implications, we've already mentioned heart problems and issues with your teeth. But did you know it might also affect your cardiovascular system. Obviously this system works with your respiratory system and so you could find some issues when breathing once you're older.

You Might Ruin Your Breakfast

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Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, as the famous saying goes. This is because it is the period of the day when you should be filling up on carbohydrates, sugars and more protein. And the energy you get from breakfast is much more important than that little snack or meal you want at night.

It Might Ruin Your Work Efficiency

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That topsy-turvy sleep you might have following a late meal is not going to do you any favours when it comes to getting up and going to work in the morning. You want to avoid any foods late on if you don't want your working day to drag. You'll spend the whole day thinking about going back to bed (as if we don't already).

Our Internal Clock Will Be Disrupted

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All of our biological processes is controlled by what is known as circadian rhythms. This is essentially an internal clock that will regulate when how alert you're feeling at different times of the day. Typically, this slows at night and this is what makes you feel tired. Food can affect this!

If You Have To Eat, Eat Healthy

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Sometimes the hunger can be so uncontrollable that we just have to eat. If this is the case then make sure you're eating snacks that contain a low number of carbs and small amounts of fruit or veggies. Good examples of a healthy late night snack would be low-sugar cereals or apples and peanut butter.

You Might Need To Urinate

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It would be rude to ignore the third way that the things inside our body can escape. But the constant need to urinate is another way that the body suffers from your late night eating habits. I'm sure you would prefer to not be constantly needing the toilet late at night.

Your Breath Might Stink

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Acid reflux is actually quite disgusting when you think about it, and this is often one of the reasons that our breath really stinks when we wake up in the morning. Obviously, we will just brush our teeth, but late night foods can only make things worse when it comes to the health of the mouth.

You Might Get The Hiccups

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Hiccups are quite possibly one of the most infuriating things that we have to put up with, some people can get them for hours and even days! Late night snacking followed by trying to lie in bed might cause you to have a long night in the sack. Save yourself the hassle!

Your Voice Might Sound Rough

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That stereotypical, sick, rough and hoarse voice is actually very realistic, although it can be emphasised on our favourite television shows. But yes, illnesses like the aforementioned laryngitis could cause our voices to become deeper and give us that obvious ill sound.