Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The surprising links between what you eat and how well you sleep

bbc.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 43 posts

Re: The surprising links between what you eat and how well you sleep

#31

Post by bjoli »

webwielder2 wrote: post #12

Fruits and vegetables good, got it.

Have a look at all dietary recommendations around the world, they all say mostly the same thing: eat a lot of vegetables, legumes and whole grains, some fish, don't drink calories, and eat little of the rest.

Somewhere in there they also mention dairy (which may or may not include fortified substitutes) for the calcium.

Edit: I only looked at the ones in languages I understand (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, UK, USA, canada, Germany, austria, and Spain with the help of a friend). They were all remarkably similar.

Edit2: FAO summarised the Japanese ones here:https://www.fao.org/nutrition/education/food-dietary-guideli...

One can explore every country there. Poor countries where food can be scarce don't advice against animal products. Is that because it is eaten rarely by the general.population anyway? Or are they a good source of nutrients when calories may be scarce?

Re: The surprising links between what you eat and how well you sleep

#32

Post by imperialdrive »

uhtred wrote: post #26

I can't believe how many people commenting are resorting to crazy eating schedules and skipping meals. Surely a healthier diet, regular exercise, not too much caffeine, booze etc is a healthier way to lose weight and sleep better.

It is hard to believe until you think about the lifestyle working in tech will lean one towards. It is then quite easy to see how, and why more extreme measures are required to get healthy. No fault of anyone, more like a price to pay for the otherwise pretty chill means of existing.

Re: The surprising links between what you eat and how well you sleep

#34

Post by rramadass »

aradox66 wrote: post #13
noneeeed wrote: post #2

Also when you eat. I recently started doing time restricted eating (16/8) which means I stop eating around 5pm at the latest on a week day. I sleep soooo much better than I used to. I'm not sure if it's a comfort thing, or perhaps some kind of hormonal/neuochemical response, but it really seems to have worked for me. Specifically I fall asleep much quicker than I used to. I used to listen to podcasts to help me doze…

This seems to be the consensus, but if I don't eat late I feel much more awake and can't fall asleep well.

You might find the book, The Circadian Code by Dr. Satchin Panda useful (details in my other comment).

Re: The surprising links between what you eat and how well you sleep

#35

Post by mgh2 »

rramadass wrote: post #34
aradox66 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This seems to be the consensus, but if I don't eat late I feel much more awake and can't fall asleep well.

You might find the book, The Circadian Code by Dr. Satchin Panda useful (details in my other comment).

Thanks for the resource! This is why I love HN, good information references.

What are some of the most useful insights you got from the book? Considering reading it...

Re: The surprising links between what you eat and how well you sleep

#36

Post by rramadass »

mgh2 wrote: post #35
rramadass wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You might find the book, The Circadian Code by Dr. Satchin Panda useful (details in my other comment).

Thanks for the resource! This is why I love HN, good information references. What are some of the most useful insights you got from the book? Considering reading it...

You should read it being that it is from an actual Scientist/Researcher and not a Journalist/New Age Guru etc.

Check the reviews of the book on Amazon and elsewhere on the Web to get an idea of the highlights.

It has been a while since i read it, but a couple of things stayed with me;

1) The Circadian Clock is not a single thing; every organ in the body has its own clock and they all work together to provide a Circadian Rhythm. We are literally ruled by it and hence is most important to get right for optimal health.

2) Time Restricted Eating is the magic bullet for maintaining Good Health. Basically this means restricting all your food/drink to a 8-12 hr window. For some reason this seems to cure most illnesses and establishes equilibrium in the body.

3) Sleep Debt is a very real thing with immediate and long-term negative consequences.

4) Sunlight in the Morning and Dim lights in the Evening are optimal for getting good Sleep.

5) There was also something about Exercising in the Morning being better but don't recall now.

Re: The surprising links between what you eat and how well you sleep

#37

Post by noneeeed »

z56 wrote: post #17
outworlder wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do that in addition to all the sleep hygiene things. No screens before going to bed, only using the bed to sleep, etc.

I'm always hungry just before bed. If I don't eat then I wake up hungry in the middle of the night. Any tips how to deal with that?

I would actually say that this is one of the things that TRE helped me with.

After a couple of weeks it had basically reprogrammed my body and my brain's response to not eating. I do still get hungry, but I don't have sugar crashes and being hungry doesn't register in the same way. I find it easier to go to bed hungry now than I would in the past. A few months ago I would find it hard to get to sleep if I hadn't eaten in the evening, now it's the other way round.

Re: The surprising links between what you eat and how well you sleep

#38

Post by noneeeed »

polished85 wrote: post #21
idrios wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What time do you go to bed? I might want to try this but I also still like being a nightowl who goes to sleep at 1 or 2am

Nice thing about IMF is that you can keep your "nightowl" schedule. Using the more lax version of 16/8 (8 hour feeding window), you could use a feeding window of 2pm-10pm. I had a similar schedule back when I was a night owl but the wife didn't like it much. I've since moved to 18/6 with a feeding window of 12pm-6pm. I did it mostly for weight and fitness but absolutely noticed the sleep benefits, which I initially a…

The flexibility of time restrictions is one of the things I really like, I can fit it in around my daily schedule.

Re: The surprising links between what you eat and how well you sleep

#39

Post by noneeeed »

hi41 wrote: post #7
noneeeed wrote: post #2

Also when you eat. I recently started doing time restricted eating (16/8) which means I stop eating around 5pm at the latest on a week day. I sleep soooo much better than I used to. I'm not sure if it's a comfort thing, or perhaps some kind of hormonal/neuochemical response, but it really seems to have worked for me. Specifically I fall asleep much quicker than I used to. I used to listen to podcasts to help me doze…

Which meal do you skip for 16/8 fasting? Is it dinner that you skip? Which one is better - skipping breakfast or dinner?

I actually don't skip any meals. I have three small meals. Some people go the whole hog and just have one meal. However I would say delaying or skipping breakfast is definitely the easiest.

Re: The surprising links between what you eat and how well you sleep

#40

Post by noneeeed »

mrfusion wrote: post #4
noneeeed wrote: post #2

Also when you eat. I recently started doing time restricted eating (16/8) which means I stop eating around 5pm at the latest on a week day. I sleep soooo much better than I used to. I'm not sure if it's a comfort thing, or perhaps some kind of hormonal/neuochemical response, but it really seems to have worked for me. Specifically I fall asleep much quicker than I used to. I used to listen to podcasts to help me doze…

It’s so hard to get others on that early dinner schedule though!

What do you class as early? For me anything earlier than 6.30pm is fine for helping me sleep, but keep portions sensible and be strict once you finish eating.
Post reply on HN