Is It Better To Sleep On An Empty Or Full Stomach?

There are certain voices in favor and others against in relation to the following question, which generates debate in various fields: what is more advisable, sleeping on an empty or full stomach?

Many people, either due to the busyness of everyday life or due to lack of information, adopt one or the other as a deeply ingrained habit.

It is important, and at the same time curious, to know what happens in our body when we go to sleep on an empty stomach, or on the contrary, go to bed after having eaten enough. Neither extreme is actually good. Let’s see why.

Sleeping on an empty stomach

Many believe that going to bed without eating is a good solution to lose weight, but this is wrong. In fact, numerous studies associate obesity with a poor quality of sleep, possibly caused by going to bed without eating anything.

This mistaken belief is based on the hypothesis “everything we eat for dinner, we get fat.”  For this reason it is indicated that it is better to go to bed without eating.

However, sleeping on an empty or hungry stomach ensures a night without winking or sleeping very badly. The next day, the consequences will be more serious than you think, especially if you repeat this behavior daily.

Consequences

This practice can result in the following:

• Loss of sleep.
• Being hungry keeps the brain on its toes.
• When you don’t get enough sleep, your basal metabolic rate drops.
• Likewise, ghrelin levels increase. This is a hormone that stimulates the appetite, causing that when you get up you eat more desperately, without measuring the amounts or what you are ingesting.
• Or, we may get up at dawn to “snack” something. This will not be good for our body. Well, instead of choosing an apple, we will prefer the leftovers of the food or something fried.
• Going to bed without eating or hungry causes you to sleep less and is negative if you want to build muscles. Well, when the body is deprived of nutrients for several hours, it breaks the muscles for energy.

So, as they always say, extremes are not good. What is advised is to eat and let a few hours pass after dinner is over until we go to bed.

If it’s too late for dinner, don’t make the mistake of not eating a bite to eat. You can opt for lighter foods, such as soups, a yogurt with cereals, a tea with toast, etc.

Another example. If many times it has happened to you that you are late from work or university and you wonder if you should have dinner at that time or better “go on” and go straight to bed, don’t hesitate. Simply, by  no means go to sleep on an empty stomach.

Sleeping on a full stomach

Now, on the opposite side of sleeping on an empty stomach, there are those who gorge themselves on food at dinner and then go to bed looking like they weigh five kilos more.

When you fill your body with food, it accumulates in the stomach, an organ responsible for producing enzymes and acids for digestion. Blood goes straight to this area and you may feel like sleeping. However, you should wait a reasonable time to go to bed.

As we have already commented previously, the waiting time between finishing eating and going to sleep should be at least an hour and a half to two hours.

In this sense, you can take advantage of this period to wash the dishes, read, study, watch a little television (not too much), chat with your partner, tidy up the house, prepare clothes for the next day, etc.

Rest after eating is necessary, but it is not the same as sleeping.

Disadvantages

Eating a lot and going to sleep immediately can bring the following disadvantages:

• Overweight.
• Increased possibility of reflux, especially if the menu is high in calories and fat.
• Probability of feeling heartburn, a sensation of “fire” in the esophagus.
• Sleeping problems.
• Sleep problems and / or nightmares

Metabolism is slower at night, digestion takes longer to proceed. Therefore, it is advisable to abstain from saturated fat. Well, the only thing they achieve is a heavy digestion, as well as gas and discomfort to sleep.

But be careful,  dinner alone does not make you fat. It depends on the amounts and the food eaten at night.

A dinner high in carbohydrates and low in protein is preferable. However, the ideal is to eat more fruits and vegetables at night and leave out sugars, fried foods and flours.

Other aspects

• According to experts on the subject,  there are no problems with bathing after eating, as long as the water is not too hot or cold and it does not take long in the shower. 

• What is not recommended is swimming.  Because there is a competition in the blood supply, between the muscles of the digestive system and that of the lower and upper limbs. That is why there are usually cramps.

I hope that this information clears the picture for you regarding the question asked at the beginning of the article. It is not good to sleep on an empty stomach. And it is not advisable to go to bed with a very full stomach.

Many people frequently do one thing or the other. Let’s try to apply healthier habits. Your rested body will thank you.