Sleep & Nutrition Interaction

Large evening meals, especially high in refined carbohydrate or fat, delay sleep onset and raise overnight heart rate; finishing dinner 3 hours before bed measurably improves sleep quality and next-morning glucose. In the other direction, a single night of 4–5 hours' sleep increases next-day energy intake by 250–400 kcal, biased toward ultra-processed food. Adequate magnesium, glycine, and tryptophan-containing protein support sleep, while alcohol — despite sedating — suppresses REM and fragments the second half of the night.