TLDR: Eating a small dinner two hours before going to bed will help you sleep deeper, resulting in health benefits.
“Eat Breakfast like a king, Lunch like a prince, Dinner like a pauper”
Photo by Juliette F on Unsplash
Sleep hygiene is the most important part of insuring deep, restful slumber. Our body craves regularity and will try to form a pattern out of the chaos of our daily lives.
For example, our digestive system loves regularity. So much so that your body will start preparing for food at scheduled meal times by increasing stomach acid and making your ‘mouth water’ (there are loads of enzymes in your saliva!)
This scheduling system of your body is called the circadian rhythm, I covered it in this article: https://medium.com/@daoofliving/unlocking-the-science-and-wisdom-of-your-bodys-internal-clock-circadian-rhythms-and-chinese-14e836ee9455
Keeping your meals on a schedule is so important that scientists have conducted multiple studies and have found that eating regular meals for just two weeks:
· Lowers peak insulin
· Lowers total and LDL-cholesterol
(From Proceedings of the Nutrition Society)
From the perspective of Chinese Medicine, sleep is not restful while digestion is occurring.
When we are digesting, a large amount of our blood and attention is focused on breaking down that food and assimilating it into the body. If we cannot digest and nourish our body, we will have a difficult time living and thriving.
Because this is such a huge job, we should give it the respect it deserves.
“When walking, walk. When eating, eat.” – Zen Proverb
In our modern busy lives we think that we are operating at peak efficiency when we multitask. We watch tv while we eat or read a book while listening to music. This is not how our bodies work best.
Try this simple experiment, next time you eat, resist the urge to scroll on your phone or be entertained by a show or book, just focus on the food, chewing it well. Notice how much fuller you feel much sooner this time!
When we split our attention, we cannot fully reap the benefits of either activity, rendering the benefits of both activities useless.
The same is true for going to bed after digesting dinner!
Instead of eating right before bed, or falling prey to the dreaded ‘midnight snack,’ give yourself time (about 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on your metabolism) to digest your (small) dinner so that your body can fully rest.
When you go to bed after digesting, your body can restore itself. In Chinese Medicine, sleep is when our Yang (active) descends into Yin (inactive). With digestion done for the day, your Yang can fully descend into deep, rejuvenating sleep.
Having a clear stretch of time between dinner and breakfast allows the body to make repairs, reduce inflammation, and solidify memories.
Benefits of getting deep sleep:
· Improved immune system
· Muscle repair and growth
· Hormone regulation
· Healthy heart
· Memories are moved to long-term storage
· Increased energy
Source: https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/deep-sleep-deep-clean
Conclusion:
Every system of our body runs on a cycle. Every organ-system has its job and performs their job better when they do not have to work at the same time as another organ.
By separating digesting and sleeping, we can reap considerable benefits from improved assimilation and deeper sleep.
Remember to eat “Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper” and to give yourself at least 30 minutes to 2 hours between dinner and bedtime.
Thank you for reading, I hope this article is helpful to you.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide individual medical advice, please schedule an appointment with a qualified professional before making drastic lifestyle changes.
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Originally posted on Medium
