After the age of 50, it is necessary to avoid eating patterns that cause insomnia, post-Covid-19
According to experts at Johns Hopkins Medicine, one-third of adults experience symptoms insomnia at any given time. In particular, the length and quality of your sleep changes between your 40s and 50s. This happens because of age-related changes in a part of the brain called the hyperactive nucleus, which controls the cycle sleep/wake or circadian rhythms.
There’s not much you can do to avoid those changes unless you can figure out how to stop the aging process. After age 50, though, maintaining healthy eating habits can help you sleep significantly better.
6 types of food to avoid after the age of 50 to sleep well, prolong life, post-Covid-19 should be maintained
1. Eating too close to bedtime
Snacking 30 minutes before bed can help you fall asleep, especially if the food contains the natural sleep-inducing hormone melatonin. However, keep in mind that it is a snack. That means you should only eat a handful of almonds, a small bowl of low-sugar cereal with low-fat milk or yogurt…
Absolutely avoid eating a large meal 2-3 hours before going to bed. Otherwise, you will not be able to digest food while lying down.
Dr Danielle McAvoy (Strong Home Gym nutritionist) said that body temperature usually drops during sleep, but the digestive process raises body temperature. This makes it harder for you to fall asleep and reduces the quality of your sleep.”
2. Drink wine at night
1-2 glasses of grape wine can make you drowsy. However, that doesn’t really contribute to a quality sleep.
“Alcohol can promote deep sleep early in the night. However, after that, your sleep can be disrupted,” says Dr. Kristine Dilley, a registered dietitian nutritionist at Ohio State University. I have strange dreams and can’t sleep anymore.”
Experts advise, if you want to drink wine, you can consider drinking it with dinner instead of drinking it near bedtime.
3. Fasting breakfast to lose weight
A lot of people still have a habit of fasting for breakfast, even without snacking throughout the day to have a delicious dinner, less weight gain.
In fact, this leaves you ravenous at dinner time. You can eat too much. This makes it even harder for you to sleep at night. It also increases the risk of indigestion.
Dr. Dilley advises: “It’s better to distribute calories throughout the day. Then take time at dinner to enjoy the meal, avoid overeating.”
4. Consume a lot processed carbs for dinner
While what you eat for dinner is important to get a good night’s sleep, don’t forget it can be the reason you wake up in the middle of the night feeling tired or lethargic.
Dr McAvoy recommends avoiding highly processed carbohydrates like pasta, chips, cakes and other baked goods “because they can make you wake up more often throughout the night”.
In addition, you should also avoid spicy foods. Spicy foods can make it harder to fall asleep because they can trigger heartburn and raise your body temperature. Adopting the habit of eating more vegetables, fruits and whole grains will improve sleep as your diet will be balanced.
“If you’re not getting enough magnesium, calcium or vitamins from your diet, a lack of those nutrients can also impair sleep quality,” says Dr. McAvoy.
5. Eat greasy foods
Fast foods are often high in protein, high in fat, and fried foods are not suitable options to eat at night if you want to sleep comfortably.
Dr Holly Klamer (Registered Dietitian with MyCrohnsAndColitisTeam.com) said: “Fat and protein take the longest to break down in the stomach. Eating high-fat foods can disrupt sleep quality sleep, causing heartburn”.
Experts recommend that you try to eat a lot of calories early in the day or at least eat at the beginning of dinner. This helps you to improve your sleep while also helping to lose weight effectively.
6. Drink tea or coffee in the afternoon
Dr. Juliana Tamayo (nutritionist for FitnessClone) said that if you drink 4-6 cups of coffee or tea a day, only drinking it in the morning, it can still make you restless and not sleep well. In particular, when drinking in the afternoon or evening, even 1-2 cups will also disrupt sleep.
“Although you can fall asleep, the quality of your sleep is not really good. You often sleep not deeply, or are restless,” added the expert.
The body needs 6-8 hours to process and eliminate the amount of caffeine you consume each time, so women should consider it, especially people after the age of 50, or after recovering from Covid-19.
In addition to eating, experts recommend 2 more important things to have a good night’s sleep after Covid-19
General Doctor Nguyen Xuan Quang (Military Medical Academy) shared, the secret of a good night’s sleep after Covid-19 is not only based on eating. You need to keep in mind 2 things:
1. Re-establishing circadian rhythms
– You need to adjust daytime activities: Practice waking up at a fixed time, regardless of how much or how little sleep you got the night before, and whether it’s the weekend or the week.
A good timeline to follow is to sleep at 10-11pm and get up at 6am the next morning.
When the alarm goes off, try to open your eyes, massage your neck, nape, head, face for 1-2 minutes to wake up, then sit up and open the curtains to let light flood into the room.
Spending a lot of time outdoors during the day: This helps the circadian rhythm get used to that time period. At noon, you only sleep 30 minutes – 1 hour, do not sleep in the afternoon. This also helps you get a better night’s sleep.
– Exercise in the evening: You can do light exercise such as jogging, cycling, cardio… at least 30 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week. However, pay attention to avoid exercising within 4 hours of bedtime.
2. Prepare for sleep
Set yourself and stick to a regular sleep schedule, maybe 10-11pm, preferably before 12pm.
Absolutely do not lie in bed whether studying, working, surfing the web, watching movies, playing games…
Do not drink too much water before going to bed at night because it will make you wake up to go to the bathroom many times.
1 hour before going to bed, reduce the brightness of the room and use yellow or orange-yellow night lights.
Stop using devices with blue light, and replace them with activities such as reading, meditation, massage.
When you go to bed, turn off all the lights, ensure absolute black space because the light mode is related to melatonin secretion. Bright light and blue light are not suitable for melatonin secretion. When it’s almost bedtime and you feel sleepy, stop all activities and go to bed right away.
If the surroundings are too noisy, try playing white or pink noise.
The bed should use a pillow with a curve to support the neck like a young latex pillow. In particular, you should use a long pillow between your knees when lying on your side to be more comfortable.
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