Sleep and nutrition are essential to overall health and wellbeing, and they’re also very closely related. A lack of sleep can lead to overeating and increase your desire for unhealthy foods. In turn, unhealthy foods can affect your ability to get a good night’s sleep – especially when eaten right before bedtime.

Many studies have been conducted on how sleep and nutrition affect one another, and in this article, we’ll be examining just how closely interlinked they are. With some insights from Westfield Health, we’ll cover the cyclical relationship between the two, the effects on your physical and mental health, and ways you can lead a healthier lifestyle.

Sleep deprivation and appetite

Sleep deprivation is a massive issue in the UK. According to Mental Health UK, almost 1 in 5 people regularly get less than enough sleep. Several well-known negative impacts of sleep deprivation include feeling irritable and unable to focus or regulate emotions. Over time it can also increase the risk of high blood pressure and certain diseases, like diabetes.

Regarding your appetite, several past studies have found connections between a lack of sleep and overeating. When you don’t get enough good quality sleep, it can trigger increased production of the hormones that regulate your appetite. This can increase your hunger levels or affect your ability to know when you’re full.

This can develop into a vicious cycle, such as overeating, disrupting usual sleeping patterns and triggering those hormones. In the long term, it can make losing weight more difficult and contribute to obesity.

Does a lack of sleep make us crave unhealthy food?

Besides generally increasing your appetite, sleep deprivation can increase the desire for high-calorie food or make you more likely to snack during the day.

Research is ongoing, but some studies have found that sleep deprivation can alter motivation and reward drivers. Or in other words, a lack of sleep can make unhealthy or ‘comfort’ foods more appealing and more satiating after you’ve eaten.

Do certain foods or drinks keep us up at night?

Eating foods high in sugar close to bedtime can be overstimulating – giving you energy when you should be getting ready to rest. One 2016 study discovered that people with high-sugar diets tended to sleep less deeply and were more likely to suffer from restlessness and waking up at night.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, large meals and foods high in protein can also keep you awake if eaten right before bed. When we’re asleep, our body’s digestion process slows down, so eating foods that take longer to digest can leave you feeling uncomfortably full and struggling to stay asleep.

Caffeine is also a common culprit in keeping you awake at night. Caffeine’s stimulative properties are well-known, and its effects can last six hours or longer. This can affect your internal body clock, making it more difficult to fall asleep, reducing the overall quality of your sleep and thus increasing the feeling of tiredness during the day.

Alcohol and nicotine can also have a similar effect to caffeine, lowering the quality of your sleep when consumed close to bedtime.

Can good nutrition help us sleep better?

In short, yes. Nutrition can affect nearly all areas of our health, both physical and mental. Good food can reduce the risk of various diseases, and according to a study by the British Medical Journal, a good diet can also positively impact our mental health. Similarly, good nutritional habits can help you sleep better at night.

It’s best to avoid eating close to bedtime where you can. Still, if you need a snack, try sticking to foods your body can digest more easily. These can be oats, whole wheat bread and other complex carbohydrates. Foods that are high in key nutrients, including calcium, magnesium, and vitamins A, C, D, and E, can make it easier to sleep. Tryptophan-rich foods, such as bananas, nuts, and cranberries, can help with the production of melatonin – the hormone that enables you to regulate your sleep cycle.

When it comes to caffeine, you don’t need to give up tea and coffee entirely to keep the adverse effects at bay – try to moderate how much you’re consuming. It’s recommended by the NHS that you stop drinking caffeine in the afternoon at least 6 hours before bedtime – try switching to decaf alternatives instead. It’s not always obvious what may contain caffeine, so it’s worth checking the labels of things like chocolate and fizzy drinks beforehand.

Just like a poor diet and poor sleep can negatively affect one another and lead to a repetitive cycle, so can a good diet and rest. Some health cash plan policies include wellbeing and alternative therapies cover, which include cover for nutritional therapies.

Small changes you can make in your bedtime routine can help, such as avoiding caffeine where you can, not going to bed on a full stomach or only eating certain foods in the evening. It can be difficult with a busy or stressful lifestyle, but escaping the cycle of sleep deprivation and unhealthy eating habits is possible.

Is having a positive mindset all it’s cracked up to be?

An optimistic outlook on life offers many benefits, from improved mental well-being to reduced pain levels. But it can be irksome if you’re going through something difficult and you’re told to stay positive.

There’s a time and a place for positivity, and if it’s forced upon you when you’re not ready to embrace it, it can be harmful. Here, we’ll explain this phenomenon – toxic positivity – and provide tips on embracing wellness without toxicity.

What is toxic positivity?

Have you ever experienced negative emotions, like grief, depression, or sadness, and hidden them from your loved ones? Perhaps you’ve even felt guilty for feelings of sadness or anger. This is a sign you’ve been affected by toxic positivity. It’s the belief that we should all maintain a positive mindset regardless of our situation.

If a loved one has told you to “stay positive”, “look on the bright side”, or “think of those that have it worse than you”, those are clear signs of toxic positivity. It’s the idea that we choose how we feel – and while our attitudes can influence our emotions, it’s not that simple.

Often, toxic positivity is well-intentioned. Your loved ones may be trying to cheer you up in a bad situation, but doing so can exacerbate the problem by making you feel bad about your reasonable reaction to hardship. Toxic positivity invalidates reasonable and rational responses to adversity and can even be used to silence struggling people.

How can you be positive without being toxic?

There’s nothing wrong with a sunny outlook on life. But we have to understand that it won’t be possible to keep up at all times, especially with what life can throw at us. Here are our top tips on embracing positivity and looking after your wellness without becoming harmful.

Allow yourself to feel your emotions.

Nobody actively wants to feel sad, angry, or depressed, but these emotions are all part of life. They will happen when experiencing difficult circumstances or dealing with mental illness. If you try to avoid them by thinking positively or experiencing them makes you feel guilty, you will end up feeling even worse. Bottling up your feelings can even impact your physical health.

Setting aside time to deal with your feelings will help you understand them and move past them. When it comes to experiencing guilt over feeling or expressing these emotions, you could confide in a loved one – they’ll help you understand that everyone encounters these feelings and ease your worries over communicating them.

Tune out toxic positivity content

Content on social media can feed into toxic positivity. Accounts dedicated to posting inspirational quotes and positive mindset messages rack up thousands of likes and comments. A “good vibes only” mentality is prevalent on social media. While some people may find following these accounts beneficial, it can make others feel bad about not constantly being sunny and optimistic.

As well as accounts dedicated to posting positive mantras, we also have to deal with humble bragging on social media. Whether it’s your friends or your favourite celebrities and influencers, people curate their social media feeds and often post positive content only. You can remove this toxic positivity from your feeds by unfollowing accounts and creators that make you feel bad about yourself.

Be more understanding

We can fall into the trap of toxic positivity without even realising it. To cheer up a loved one who is having a hard time, we might encourage them to look on the bright side. But by doing so, we can make them feel guilty or their emotions disregarded.

It’s natural to want to try and resolve your loved one’s problems. But sometimes, letting them know that you’re there, you’re listening, and you’re not judging just by saying phrases like “I’m here no matter what”, “your feelings are valid”, and “that must be tough” is enough.

You could also ask your friend or family member if they’re looking for advice or just looking to vent over some warm mugs of tea. By understanding their needs at the moment, you can better support them and validate how they’re feeling instead of jumping to what you think is best.

After the hardships many of us have faced in the past couple of years, the shift to constant positivity is understandable. But engaging with “good vibes only” content and viewing everything in a positive light isn’t beneficial – it can have the opposite effect and make you or your loved ones feel even worse about your situation. This can lead to you bottling up your feelings, which we know harms our health. A positive attitude is a good thing – but positivity without nuance is not.