Does Eating Late Improve Sleep?

There’s no denying that social media apps like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are becoming more and more prevalent in our lives. What began as a way to stay in touch with friends and family has morphed into a source for fun, games, and more serious things like news, reviews, and yes, even medical advice. But that doesn’t mean you should be using it for half of that, either.Take for example, medical advice. A while ago, there was a TikTok trend of young adults showing off homemade “braces” they fashioned themselves. This is dangerous for so many reasons, including the potential to make your bite worse, cause tooth and gum infection, and even cause lost teeth. But now a new video has gone viral for suggesting the way to get a good night’s sleep is to eat a meal before bed. But is this a good idea? Let’s take a closer look.According to the video, the expert suggests that because cortisol (a hormone) is in charge of regulating your blood sugar, those who are under stress at night may not be getting enough, thus keeping them up at night. This could be causing their insomnia. The proposed ‘hack’ is to try eating late to raise cortisol levels at bedtime to lower the need for blood sugar regulation. But while this may work occasionally, will it work all the time? Some sleep experts aren’t convinced.First of all, eating late at night could cause digestive issues such as indigestion. It can also backfire and keep you up later, or cause problems with digestion. It also won’t help with true insomnia or sleep apnea.Sleep apnea is a serious condition affecting millions of Americans each year. It occurs when the affected person stops and restarts breathing over and over again throughout the night, causing them to wake repeatedly. This causes not just poor sleep quality, but also poor quality of life during the day as well.Sleep apnea should not be treated by midnight snack. It requires a different solution, either CPAP therapy, which is often underused, or a sleep orthotic which Dr. Peterson offers and is generally well tolerated. Sleep orthotics are the solution you’ve been looking for to your sleep apnea issues. To learn more about sleep apnea, sleep orthotics, and the options you want for making your life better, please schedule a consultation with Dr. Peterson today.