When I was having difficulty sleeping I was also having problems with how I was eating. Some days I wouldn’t eat for a good portion of the day and then eat like crazy at night, sometimes stuffing myself. What I found out was that eating before bedtime can cause difficulty falling asleep, especially if you stuff yourself before you go to bed.

Having too much in your stomach when you go to sleep can cause you really serious trouble falling asleep. What happens when you eat too much is your digestive process kicks into high gear and does not allow your body to fall into the deep state of sleep. Deep sleep is what we really need in order to wake feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day.

I used to think, like maybe you have thought, that it is good to be able to eat a big meal before we go to bed. The reason I thought this is because it makes nearly everyone I know lethargic and tired, kind of like after a big Thanksgiving dinner. What I didn’t realize, however, was the biology behind that lethargic feeling.

Whenever you eat the wrong kinds of foods, or too much food, it releases a lot of sugar all at once into your bloodstream. In response to this sugary onslaught, your pancreas releases insulin into your blood. This is what causes your lethargic feeling. While you may be able to fall asleep your sleep is going to be shallow. In fact you’ll probably have trouble staying asleep as a result of your body’s chemical reaction.

Maybe you are thinking the same question I was thinking when I discovered this. That question was “does this mean I shouldn’t eat at all before I go to bed?”  The answer surprised me, and it might surprise you.

I found out that it can be a good idea to eat a light snack before you go to bed. It’s important to choose something that is easily digestible so that it doesn’t cause excess sugar to flood into your bloodstream. If you’re going to eat a couple hours before you go to bed, a slice of bread will do nicely. If you are eating closer to bedtime, you might want to consider eating some fruit. The trick is to choose fruit that is lower on the glycemic index like apples, plums, pears or even grapes. This will keep sugar from being released into your system too quickly and causing you difficulty sleeping.

What I found is that by being careful with what I ate before bedtime was one of the best natural remedies for insomnia. You will probably find this to be true for you also. As a matter of fact, you might be able to overcoming insomnia simply by eating the proper foods before you go to bed. Don’t be afraid to experiment a little bit with the types of foods that you are eating as long as they are not too sugary or filling.  Finding the combination that helps you to overcome your difficulty sleeping will be a true blessing.

Wil Dieck is the founder of Total Mind Therapy and author of an e-Course “Overcoming Insomnia” that you can have at absolutely no charge. Drop by http://howtosleepinfo.com/ for your copy today.