Insomnia Bedtime Snack

Left to my own devices I am a TERRIBLE sleeper, awake all hours, waking up at 3am for 90 minutes, you name it. So if I’ve been able to get myself to sleep deeply and well, I can get anyone to!

  How Does Blood Sugar Impact Insomnia?

One of the interesting things about sleep and insomnia is that it is closely linked with cortisol and blood sugar. For example, when you keep waking up between 3-4am, in many cases it is due to low blood sugar. In fact I’ve had some clients who have reported having to get out of bed and eat chocolate at 3am! If you are waking regularly I the middle of the night, you may not necessarily feel hungry when you wake up but that’s what’s done it!

 How Does Cortisol Impact Insomnia?

The other side of the coin with insomnia is cortisol. Cortisol is your stress hormone and it goes up and down all day in roughly 90 minute patterns. Cortisol peaks around 9pm, 11:30pm, 1am, 3:30am, etc, etc. This is fine if you aren’t stressed, but most of us have a few things going on so supporting dopamine (more or less the ‘anti-cortisol’) helps to balance cortisol.

 What To Eat Before Bed for insomnia

Right, now to the food, eating a snack which is a balance of slow releasing carbs, like fruit and a wholegrain slice of toast, with a protein and fat to allow the blood sugar to steadily rise and decline, help to keep your blood sugar nicely balanced all night long.

Cherries in particular are my favourite snack for insomnia as they contain melatonin, the sleepy hormone!