Category Archives: Sleep

Doctor Shares Signs You Might Have ‘Hormonal Insomnia’

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Even though I have insomnia, I didn’t recognise that I had a problem for years.

That’s because I thought the condition only meant struggling to fall asleep. But I have sleep maintenance insomnia, which means I wake up in the middle of the night and then struggle to return to the land of nod.

I heard the phrase for the first time last year. But I only read the words “hormonal insomnia” this week.

Speaking to HuffPost UK, Dr Giuseppe Aragona, GP and medical adviser for Prescription Doctor, explained that those with the condition “often have trouble falling asleep initially, wake during the night and struggle to return to sleep, or wake too early in the morning”.

But what does the term mean, why does it happen, and what can you do if you have it?

What is “hormonal insomnia”?

The term “refers to difficulty sleeping that arises as a result of changes or imbalances in the body’s hormone levels,” Dr Aragona explained.

“Several hormones play a key role in regulating sleep, including melatonin, which signals to the brain that it is time to sleep, and cortisol, which promotes alertness and can interfere with sleep if elevated at night.”

Reproductive hormones, like oestrogen and progesterone, can also lead to the condition because they, too, affect our sleep patterns.

So perhaps it’s not surprising that the GP said: “Hormonal insomnia is most commonly observed during life stages when hormone levels are changing significantly, such as during the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, perimenopause, or menopause, and may also occur in thyroid disorders or other endocrine conditions.

“These hormonal shifts can disrupt the body’s temperature regulation, circadian rhythm, and mood, all of which contribute to sleep disturbance.”

What are the symptoms of hormonal insomnia?

They’re quite like those of “regular” insomnia, Dr Aragona said.

“People experiencing hormonal insomnia often have trouble falling asleep initially, wake during the night and struggle to return to sleep, or wake too early in the morning.

“Sleep may feel fragmented and of poor quality, leading to daytime fatigue, irritability, poor concentration, and low mood.”

If your hormonal insomnia is linked to hormonal changes like menopause, you might notice other symptoms keeping you awake, like hot flushes and night sweats.

If a GP were to check for hormonal, rather than general, insomnia, the doctor tolf HuffPost UK, they “would typically explore a person’s life stage, hormonal history, and the timing and pattern of symptoms.

“It is also important to consider associated symptoms such as mood changes, night sweats, or bladder issues, and to rule out other causes of insomnia such as stress, poor sleep hygiene, sleep apnoea, or pain.”

Blood tests can help to rule out thyroid issues or hormonal imbalances, too.

What should I do if I have hormonal insomnia?

Dr Aragona recommends a blend of different strategies.

“Maintaining a consistent sleep routine, avoiding stimulants and screens in the evening, and keeping the bedroom cool, dark, and quiet can help,” he advised, while “Relaxation techniques such as mindfulness or breathing exercises can reduce stress and cortisol levels, making it easier to fall asleep.

“Addressing underlying hormonal symptoms, for example, through lifestyle strategies or, where appropriate, medical treatments for menopause-related symptoms, may also improve sleep.”

If your insomnia lasts for a long time ― some doctors put it at more than three nights a week, for three months or longer ― see a GP, said the expert.

Lastly, “General health measures, including regular exercise, a balanced diet, and avoiding excessive alcohol or nicotine, also support better sleep,” said Dr Aragona.

“Hormonal insomnia is usually multifactorial, so addressing lifestyle, behavioural, and medical factors together tends to be the most effective approach.”

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The ‘3-3-3 Rule’ A Doctor Uses To Tell Bad Sleep From Insomnia

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Having the occasional bad night’s sleep isn’t anything to worry about in and of itself, the NHS says.

But if the issue lasts a long time or starts to affect your day-to-day life, it could be worth speaking to a doctor, as this might be down to conditions like insomnia.

Still, those terms can be a little tough to navigate. How long is “a long time”? It feels like everyone complains about feeling tired – how can we tell “normal” fatigue from sleep-disorder-level exhaustion?

Here, doctor and Fellow at the Royal College of Anaesthetists, Dr Sunny Nayee, shared the “3-3-3 rule” he uses to tell bad sleep from a more lasting issue.

What is the “3-3-3 rule”?

“If you experience disrupted sleep at least three nights a week for at least three months, medical practitioners no longer regard it as lifestyle related but in the realm of insomnia,” Dr Nayee said.

He encourages those concerned to ask themselves three questions:

  • Do you experience poor sleep for a minimum of three nights?
  • Have you experienced poor sleep hygiene for at least three months?
  • Does poor sleep impact at least three aspects of your day (fatigue, brain fog, changes in mood, lack of concentration).

After all, he stated, insomnia is usually measured by how you feel in the daytime, not what you struggle with at night.

“A common misconception is that people think insomnia is staring at the ceiling and not sleeping at all,” he wrote.

“However, it’s defined by the impact it has throughout the day. If you find that poor sleep hygiene is having an instrumental impact on your mood, concentration and ability to function, then it may be considered a clinical condition.”

What if I think I have insomnia?

Per the NHS, insomnia is not a life sentence: it is often linked to stress, booze, a poor sleeping setup, or rooms that are too hot or cold, and “usually gets better by changing your sleeping habits”.

The health service recommends going to bed at the same time every day, exercising regularly, ensuring your room is dark and quiet, using comfortable bedding, and unwinding for at least an hour before bed, ie by reading a book.

If changing your sleep habits doesn’t work, if your sleep issues have been going on for months, and/or if your insomnia is “affecting your daily life in a way that makes it hard for you to cope,” speak to your GP.

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If You’re Waking Up To Pee This Many Times A Night, It’s Time To Check Your Breathing

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Waking up at 3am is a surprisingly common experience – and there are plenty of reasons why it might happen.

“During a typical night’s sleep, we go through multiple 90-minute cycles that include different stages of sleep, from light to deep and REM sleep,” the doctor said.

“Around 3am, most people are transitioning between cycles, and the sleep tends to be lighter at this point.”

This transition makes us “more susceptible to waking”, suggested the pro, especially if there are external disturbances such as noise, light, temperature changes or even the urge to use the toilet.

But if you find yourself waking up multiple times throughout the night to pee, including a 3am dash to the loo, did you know it could signal an issue with your breathing?

Why your nighttime toilet trip and breathing could be linked

Nocturia, or nocturnal urinary frequency, is an issue characterised by needing to wee more than once throughout the night.

It can be caused by a range of factors, one of which is obstructed breathing.

In fact, according to the Sleep Foundation, nocturia occurs in up to half of people with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

For those who haven’t come across the medical condition before, OSA, which is thought to affect as many as 10 million people in the UK, involves “stop and start” breathing patterns during sleep.

Per the Sleep Foundation, “OSA affects the hormones that control urine production, leading to more frequent urination”.

In a post shared on Instagram, dentist Dr Mark Burhenne (@askthedentist) explained the mechanisms of this further: “When your airway collapses during sleep, you keep trying to breathe against a closed airway. This creates massive negative pressure in your chest that stretches your heart muscle.

“Your heart responds by releasing a hormone called ANP (atrial natriuretic peptide) that tells your kidneys to dump sodium and water.

“Normally during sleep, your brain releases ADH (antidiuretic hormone) that tells your kidneys to CONSERVE water – so you can sleep through the night without peeing. But ANP actively SUPPRESSES that protective ADH signal. So you’re not just making more urine – your body’s brake system gets shut off too.”

He concluded that this means your body is “both actively MAKING more urine” and “blocking the signal that would conserve water”.

What to do about it

Dr Burhenne recommended tracking your nighttime pee breaks, as once a night might be normal, but two or more times “is a red flag”.

If you are waking up two or more times to pee, he urges you to consider: “Do I snore? Wake up exhausted? Have a small/recessed jaw, crowded teeth, or a history of retractive orthodontics?”

And if this is the case, he recommends speaking to a professional.

Sleep apnoea can be serious if it’s not diagnosed and treated, warns the NHS.

Treatment typically involves wearing a CPAP machine to improve your breathing while you sleep.

Alternatively, you might be offered a mandibular advancement device (a gum shield-esque device to hold your airways open when you sleep) or surgery to help your breathing.

Exercising regularly, sleeping on your side, losing weight if you’re overweight and adopting good sleep hygiene habits might also help.

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Can Resetting Your Body Clock Help Prevent Dementia?

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Poor sleep, especially in midlife, has been associated with an increased risk of developing dementia.

We aren’t sure exactly why the two appear to be linked, though, and it can be very hard to unpick whether it’s an early symptom of Alzheimer’s vs an actual cause of it.

New research, however, has found that turning off a circadian (related to the sleep-wake cycle) protein in mice reduced their levels of tau protein, the accumulation of which in the brain is linked to dementia.

It also seemed to raise their nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, or NAD+, levels, associated with increased protection against dementia.

Why might your body clock be linked to dementia?

In the experiment, published in the journal Nature Ageing, scientists genetically removed a circadian protein called REV-ERBα in two groups of mice.

REV-ERBα, which helps to regulate our metabolic cycle and inflammation levels, also appears to control our NAD+ levels (the coenzyme we mentioned earlier, which seems to counteract the changes linked to dementia).

In one of the groups of mice, they deleted REV-ERBα proteins across their entire body.

In another group, the deletion only happened in astrocytes – star-shaped cells which make up a large part of the nervous system and help to support our brains.

For both groups of mice, the change led to increased NAD+ levels.

Speaking to WashU Medicine about a separate paper published in Nature Neuroscience, Dr Erik S. Musiek, who was involved in both studies, said: “There are 82 genes that have been associated with Alzheimer’s disease risk, and we found that the circadian rhythm is controlling the activity of about half of those.

“Knowing that a lot of these Alzheimer’s genes are being regulated by the circadian rhythm gives us the opportunity to find ways to identify therapeutic treatments to manipulate them and prevent the progression of the disease.”

What might this mean?

In the Nature Ageing paper, the researchers ran further studies that involved a combination of both the genetic deletion of REV-ERBα and a promising new medicine. This appeared to increase NAD+ levels.

The researchers suggest that inhibiting the protein may be more useful at certain stages of dementia, like early on when tau tangles are forming, than others.

“Our studies shed light on crucial neuroprotective mechanisms mediated by REV-ERBα in astrocytes and should help guide ongoing drug development efforts to target REV-ERBα function in AD and other neurodegenerative diseases,” the paper reads.

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Ask A GP: When Should I Worry About Fatigue?

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According to YouGov, a third of UK adults say they feel tired about half of the time.

Some research suggests 5-7% of people who see their GP complain of fatigue, and recent surveys say the average British adult only gets three nights of decent kip a week.

No wonder it feels like everyone, everywhere, is constantly exhausted.

But if we’re all so wiped out, how can we be expected to tell “normal” tiredness from more concerning fatigue?

Here, we asked Dr Suzanne Wylie, GP and medical adviser for IQdoctor, when to worry.

When should I see a doctor about fatigue?

Speaking to HuffPost UK, Dr Wylie explained that fatigue “is a very common complaint in general practice and, in most cases, is related to lifestyle factors such as lack of sleep, stress, or overwork”.

But sometimes, it can be linked to underlying health issues – and its persistence can be a red flag.

“As a GP, I would suggest that you should start to worry about fatigue if it is persistent, lasting more than a few weeks, or if it is unexplained by your usual activities or recent events,” she said.

Aside from longer-lasting fatigue, exhaustion with other symptoms should be investigated, too.

“You should also seek medical advice if the tiredness is accompanied by other symptoms such as unintentional weight loss, night sweats, fevers, breathlessness, chest pain, persistent cough, or changes in bowel habit,” the GP said.

Meanwhile, fatigue linked to low mood, disrupted sleep, and a loss of interest in hobbies “may indicate depression or anxiety, which also warrants assessment”.

She added, “Additionally, if you notice symptoms such as increased thirst or urination, palpitations, dizziness, or heavy menstrual bleeding, it could point towards conditions like diabetes, thyroid disease, or anaemia”.

Anything else?

Per the NHS, you should see your doctor if fatigue lasts longer than a few weeks, if it affects your day-to-day life, and/or if you’ve noticed other symptoms like unexplained weight loss or mood changes.

And if your partner or someone else tells you you’ve been “making gasping, snorting or choking noises when you’re asleep,” visit your doctor as this could be a sign of sleep apnoea.

“In short,” Dr Wylie ended, “while occasional tiredness is normal, persistent or unexplained fatigue, especially when associated with other symptoms, should always prompt a review with your GP”.

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5 Steps A Sleep Expert Takes To Wake Up Feeling Refreshed

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It’s not just you: autumn is a uniquely fatiguing season.

And with the upcoming clock changes, some of us might feel even more tired than usual. Some research suggests that even though we technically “gain” an hour’s sleep, most of us don’t actually rest for an extra 60 minutes.

Instead, Harvard Health writes, we’re actually more likely to wake up in the middle of the night, get up earlier, and struggle to nod off in the first place.

This makes the advice from Dr Deborah Lee, a sleep expert from Doctor Fox, more welcome.

Working alongside Comfybedss, the doctor shared five tips for waking up more refreshed in this exhausting period.

1) Exercise in the morning if you can

OK, Dr Lee admits, most of us don’t exactly crave an early morning gym session – especially in cold, dark winter.

But “research has shown that doing a 30-minute workout with a medium effort will help you wake up a lot quicker than if you weren’t to reduce sleepiness,” she wrote.

It doesn’t have to be a HIIT session or anything intense: a walk will suffice, she said (plus, morning light is uniquely good at regulating our body clocks).

2) Protect your Circadian rhythm

Speaking of which, the doctor said keeping your Circadian rhythm (or body clock) regular is important in the winter months.

“A huge factor in this is routine, and ensuring you’re going to sleep at the same time each night and waking up at the same time each morning,” Dr Lee said.

“It isn’t just your sleeping pattern that needs to be kept in routine, but your daily meals, your shower and bath routine and your technology ‘switch off’ time.”

Sadly, the sleep expert said, that includes weekends too – tough, “but if you push through, then it will make your Monday wake-up a lot easier!”

3) Use natural light or a SAD lamp to wake up in the morning

If waking up to an inky sky is getting you down, Dr Lee says you’re not alone.

“When your eyes see light in the morning, it gives signals to your brain that it’s time to wake up,” she wrote, which can be “really confusing for the mind”.

The best option, she advised, is to “utilise natural light by opening the curtains and getting outside as soon as possible”.

But if that’s not possible, “Invest in a night lamp so that you can put it on first thing in the morning. Or, a [SAD] lamp.

“These lamps will wake you, so it won’t be such a shock to the eyes when there’s a big, bright light next to you.”

4) Be picky about your breakfast

Though you might be tempted to grab some toast or a cereal bar in a rushed weekday morning, “but a breakfast that is rich in both carbohydrates and protein should make you feel more alert quickly,” the doctor said.

Opting for something sugary, like sweet cereals, can cause your blood sugar to spike and then crash, Dr Lee added – not ideal if you want to feel alert during that morning meeting.

5) Wait before grabbing that cup of morning coffee

It’s natural to reach for caffeine on a groggy morning. But per the sleep expert, the best results actually happen when you wait.

“You shouldn’t be reaching for the caffeine until at least 45 minutes after you wake up, as this is when the caffeine will give you the biggest fix,” she stated.

A bonus? It’ll probably help your teeth, too.

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I Don’t Have Time For My Friends. What Can I Do?

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I don’t know if “hypocrite” is exactly the right word, but I’m definitely proof that knowing better does not always mean doing better.

For instance, I know how bad it is to check your clock and doom-scroll after waking up at 3am. And yet I still do it: my insomnia persists.

I’m also well aware that close, healthy relationships with other people are key to living a longer and healthier life. Having great mates can even lower your risk of dementia.

So why do I have 14 unread texts at the moment, and how come the idea of dragging my weary bones to an after-work event has made me sob in the past?

I love my friends, but if I’m honest, I am too exhausted by life and its endless admin to make plans as much as I’d like to.

This is not fair of me, and I feel awful about it, but it seems to be a common concern: a 2024 study found that less than half of us spend as much time as we’d like with our mates, which makes sense since we hang out under half the amount we used to 10 years ago.

And, per Dating.com, Google searches for “don’t have time for friends” have jumped +163% this month.

If you’re in the same boat, what should you do? Here’s what Dr Uma Darji, a family doctor, and Lee Thompson, co-founder of Flash Pack (a travel company that brings solo adventurers together), told us.

Feeling too tired for friends is, sadly, all too common

Ironically, you are not alone in feeling too fatigued to hang out.

Dr Darji admitted, “When you’re juggling work, family, and the daily chaos of adult life, friendship can start to feel like another item on your to-do list. I see this all the time in my patients, and honestly, I’ve felt it too.

“The truth is that mental and emotional exhaustion don’t just make us tired, but they also make us withdraw. Although catching up with a friend should feel energising, it can feel overwhelming when your brain is in survival mode.”

Thompson, meanwhile, said that he spent much of his 30s neglecting his friendships for the sake of his business.

“By the time I hit my 40s, the impact hit me hard – I felt long stretches of loneliness because I hadn’t nurtured the friendships that really mattered,” he shared.

Interestingly, both told me that some degree of letting go is crucial if you want to rebuild your friendships.

Dr Darji said you should try as hard as you can to release any guilt you might feel. “You’re not a bad friend for being tired. Adult friendships don’t have to look like they did in college,” she said.

“What matters most is staying emotionally connected, not necessarily seeing each other constantly.”

Thompson stated, “I’ve learned that friendship doesn’t need to be complicated.” He began lowering the expectations he had for himself and his friends, and has been much happier since.

How can I maintain friendships when I’m exhausted?

Like Thompson, Dr Darji said remodelling your social expectations to fit your adult life is key.

“I suggest adjusting expectations. If you aren’t up for a long dinner, try to engage with a short voice note or quick meme exchange to keep the lines of communication and connection alive without draining you,” she stated.

“Try to combine social time with activities you already do, such as walking with a friend while kids play or catching up while shopping for groceries, calling a friend when driving.

“Be honest with your friends, you don’t have to pretend that you can do it all.”

Thompson makes an important point, though; once you have adjusted your expectations to fit what is possible for you, stick to your new rules.

The business co-founder says he puts “one dinner in the diary every month with my closest friends, and we never cancel.

“It’s the most important meeting I have all month because it energises me, helps me feel seen, inspires me and gives me space to breathe outside work and family life.”

While it might sound exhausting, the two experts told me, the payoff is definitely worth it.

“Connecting with others is essential to our emotional well-being,” Dr Darji explained.

“A short interaction can refill our cups in ways that only rest can’t… always remember that.”

Thompson, meanwhile, called it a “small investment that pays off massively for your mental health and happiness”.

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These May Be The Best (And Worst) Bedtimes For Heart Health

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Turns out that while some of us have different “chronotypes,” or natural predispositions towards being either night owls or early birds, some research suggests we should all try to nod off before a certain point anyway.

“To age healthily, individuals should start sleeping before 1am, despite chronobiological preferences,” the 2024 paper read.

And a 2021 study published in the European Heart Journal suggested there’s a “golden hour” bedtime for heart health too.

The cohort study, which looked at 88,000 UK Biobank participants who were aged between 43 and 74, monitored participants’ sleep for a week before monitoring their heart health status over an average of 5.7 years.

They found that those who fell asleep between 10-11pm seemed the least likely to develop heart issues in that time.

What may be the best and worst sleep times for heart health?

Those who fell asleep between 11pm and midnight were 12% more likely to develop heart health and circulatory issues during the study.

For those who fell asleep after midnight, that rose to 25%. Those who kipped before 10pm had a 24% increased likelihood of developing heart health issues, too, though the number of people who had this earlier bedtime was small in the study.

And as we shared, 10-11pm seemed to be the bedtime linked to the lowest risk.

Women seemed to be more affected by the discrepancies than men, too.

This, however, was only an observational study. That means that the scientists couldn’t prove that differences in bedtime definitely caused the changes in heart health outcomes – it only showed an association, or link, between the two.

But they did posit that those who fall asleep after midnight might be less likely to see morning light, which we know can help to regulate our body clock.

So, should I definitely go to bed around 10-11pm?

According to Harvard Health, “nontraditional sleep times may disrupt the body’s 24-hour internal clock, or circadian rhythm, which plays a key role in regulating physical functioning”.

And Regina Giblin, a senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation (BHF) said, “This large study suggests that going to sleep between 10 and 11pm could be the sweet spot for most people to keep their heart healthy long-term.

“Getting enough sleep is important for our general wellbeing as well as our heart and circulatory health, and most adults should aim for seven to nine hours of sleep per night.”

But, both warn, this study can’t prove that bedtime itself is definitely the cause of heart issues.

“More research is needed into sleep timing and duration as a risk factor for heart and circulatory diseases,” Giblin said.

Sleep is not the only factor that can impact heart health either, she added.

“It’s also important to look at your lifestyle… knowing your numbers such as blood pressure and cholesterol levels, maintaining a healthy weight and exercising regularly, cutting down on salt and alcohol intake, and eating a balanced diet can also help to keep your heart healthy.”

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I’m A Sweaty Sleeper. This Mattress And Duvet Combo Have Changed Everything

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We hope you love the products we recommend! All of them were independently selected by our editors. Just so you know, HuffPost UK may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page if you decide to shop from them. Oh, and FYI – prices are accurate and items in stock as of time of publication.

As you will have noticed stepping out your door this morning – it is now bloody cold! The Autumnal equinox has come and gone and summer is well and truly over.

I look forward to spending the next month simultaneously boiling and freezing at various points during the day. (Layering clothing is more complicated than you’d think.) For many of us, the colder weather also prompts a new bedding dilemma.

For some of us this means wondering if now is the time to swap our duvet for a heavier tog, or turning our mattresses over to let them breathe a bit as we enter central heating season.

But for me, the effort and decision is minimal as I’ve finally found the most comfortable mattress ever, and the most convenient and comfortable duvet, as well.

The best duvet for all seasons (and sweat levels)

For those of us who are sweaty sleepers – whether naturally, or perimenopause-induced – the Simba Hybrid 3-in-1 Duvet really is a lifesaver.

As an American who has lived in the UK for nearly 20 years, it has taken me a very long time to get used to sleeping without a top sheet. (I tried again recently, and decided I think I actually hate it.)

I could never really get on with the idea of sleeping with a duvet in the warm, late summer months until I started using this duvet. Basically, it does what it says on the tin.

There are two parts to the duvet – one layer for the warmer months that’s only 3.5 tog, and another for the cooler months that’s 7 tog. If you’re terrible at fast maths, that’s a total of 10.5 tog if you’re wanting the warmest option available. Together, the layers become one fluffy, warm, cloud of a duvet. And on their own, still delightful.

The layers simply snap together with the little poppers on the edges of the duvet. This week I swapped the 3.5 tog for the 7 tog, and it’s the perfect weight and warmth for these funny months where it’s still warm in the day, and then brisk in the evenings and early mornings.

I’m also a big fan of sleeping with the window open – what’s more pleasant than a cool room and snuggling under a warm duvet? – so this is ideal for me.

The best mattress for hot sleepers

I usually find mattress shopping to be a stressful event. How do you choose without laying on a hundred different mattresses? How do you really know which ones are comfortable? How can you ever be sure?

This is where honest reviews come in handy, so when I say that I absolutely LOVE the Simba Hybrid Pro Mattress, I genuinely mean it.

This is the first mattress I’ve been able to decide on as a newly single person, and it felt like a very big deal. I got to choose the firmness and size that I wanted – and I have to say I feel like a genius for deciding on this one. I went for a King, and what I love about this mattress is that it has a breathable layer and I don’t feel like I’m being boiled alive by a hot hob when I’m sleeping (which some mattresses genuinely feel like).

It’s hard to believe when you first pull a rolled-up mattress out of a box that it’s going to actually unfurl into something that’s both comfortable and also thick enough to support you in your slumber – but it truly is. Because of how my move into my flat happened, I only had a few hours of the mattress being out of the box before I slept on it, and it was absolutely fine. By the next night, it was heavenly.

I continually find the height of this mattress to be really impressive. It has several fancy layers that I can’t exactly pretend to explain or understand all that they do, but crucially I know I can take off the top layer to have it washed, and that there’s a breathable wool layer, as well.

Firmness wise, this is excellent. As an elder millennial who just turned 40 – and spends a lot of money on physiotherapy – I can confirm that this is neither too hard, nor too soft. It’s comfortable and sturdy for all manner of nocturnal activities, and it doesn’t leave you with new cricks in your neck or kinks in your back when you wake. Ideal.

The combination of the Simba Hybrid 3-in-1 Duvet and Simba Hybrid Pro Mattress really have helped give me the most comfortable and supported sleep I’ve had in months. I can’t recommend either enough – particularly if you run hot overnight or like to have options when it comes to your duvet tog.

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3 Foods An Expert Thinks Are Ruining Your Sleep

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You might already know that sleep experts have preferred dinner times, because eating less than two to four hours before your bedtime can mess up your kip.

But speaking to HuffPost UK, sleep psychologist Dr Katherine Hall (who has paired with Comfybedss) shared that the type of food you eat matters, too.

“If you can’t fall asleep or struggle to stay asleep,” she advised, your diet might be at least partly to blame.

Here are three foods she skips before bedtime:

1) Salty food

“Sodium-rich meals result in fluid retention and increased blood pressure, making it hard for the body to switch off completely after eating snacks like crisps or salted nuts,” Dr Hall told us.

A 2006 paper found that salt can lead to delayed bedtimes, increased awakenings in the middle of the night, and less satisfying sleep.

That’s because, the sleep expert said, a salt overload leads to “superficial sleep, where the sleep isn’t very deep and can often involve disturbances like going to the toilet more”.

She recommends avoiding foods like gammon and bacon, as well as other salty snacks, before bed.

2) Acidic food

Though many associate these with heartburn, Dr Hall says not all acidic foods are created equal.

“If we take a deep dive into certain acidic foods, those struggling to sleep will want to avoid some more than others. Tyramine is an amino acid that is normally a great addition to anyone’s diet as it stimulates natural brain activity,” she said.

This acid encourages the release of norepinephrine, which can stimulate the brain too much and keep you awake.

“Foods that are high in tyramine include tomatoes, aubergines, soy sauce, red wine and cheeses,” the psychiatrist shared.

3) Spicy food

“For anyone struggling to sleep, avoid spicy foods altogether,” Dr Hall said.

That’s because “Digesting the various spices and chillies you have in your curries or other hot dishes can severely disrupt our body’s ability to thermoregulate, which essentially means managing our temperature”.

And anyone who’s suffered through a sleepless hot night will know how important temperature is to our sleep.

“Capsaicin is the chemical in spicy food that causes our temperature to skyrocket, so combine this with the energy your body needs to digest the remainder of the meal, and you can really struggle getting some solid sleep,” the expert ended.

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