Tips On Smart Late Night Snacking. 

I’ve had dinner… bedtime is not for another hour… and I’m slightly bored. The perfect equation for the munchies! 

Can you think of any event of our “happy hour” society that does not really have any nighttime activity that doesn’t include food or drink? Depending on your food choices; this is the LAST thing your body needs. It can cause heartburn, sleeplessness, be a danger to asthmatics, and encourage insomnia.

My first recommendation is to AVOID eating 3 hours before bedtime with a few handy suggestions:
1. Make a ritual: A nightly pattern can be your best ally
2. Stretching: the last thing you feel like doing when you stretch is eating
3. Herbal Tea!: Learn to love it

Avoiding bedtime eating gives you the best chance of not putting yourself at risk for over-indulging or making poor choices.
However, if you can’t go to sleep because you are hungry
then go for SMART snacking…

No’s
1. NO fatty foods!!! Period!: Fat stimulates the production of acid in the stomach, which can spill up into your esophagus, causing heartburn.
2. Wine: it’s pure sugar and your body metabolizes it quickly which means your going to be waking up all night
3. Chocolate: calories + caffine… not so much for sleeping
4. Soda: Right up there with chocolate except worse! Your dentists worst nightmare as well.

GOOD ideas:
1. Cherries – one of the few natural foods that contain melatonin which helps you sleep
2. A small bowl of good complex carb cereal – my personal favorites are Kashi and Shredded wheat
3. Bananas: Contains natural muscle relaxants 
4. Turkey: This is the ONLY protein I will recommend others will keep you up- It contains tryptophan – yes that’s why you pass out after thanksgiving
5. Mineral water: I tend to avoid anything carbonated before bed but if you MUST have something then this is the smartest solution.