Wake-up call: fix your diet for a better night's sleep

Hannah Twiggs asks two experts about the foods that disrupt your rest and the ones that can help you drift off more easily

- Hannah Twiggs

If you've ever lain awake at night replaying every awkward conversation you've ever had, you'll know that sleep - or, rather, the lack of it can feel maddeningly elusive. We're told to switch off our phones, meditate, dim the lights, ban caffeine after midday and take a magnesium supplement for good measure.

But while many of us have spent years tinkering with our bedtime routines, the answer might be sitting under our noses. Specifically, on our dinner plates. What you eat, and when you eat it, has just as much impact on your ability to nod off as any blue-light screen or stressful email. Certain foods can raise your heart rate, spike your temperature or mess with the hormones that regulate rest, while others can lull you into slumber.

“If you can't fall asleep or struggle to stay asleep, salt could be the root of the issue,” says Dr Katherine Hall, a sleep psychologist from the sleep improvement program Somnus Therapy. “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.”

Salt doesn’t just make you thirsty. It actually changes the body’s ability to rest. “This then results in something called superficial sleep, where the sleep isn’t very deep and can often involve disturbances like going to the toilet more, as studies show this can be brought on more by too much salt in the diet.”

The culprit, Dr Hall says, is your blood pressure and fluid balance. A high-sodium meal essentially keeps your body in alert mode. You might fall asleep quickly after that post-pub kebab, but your system won’t fully switch off - which is why you'll likely wake up groggy, parched and wondering why you feel as though you've barely slept.