Holiday Eating & Sleeping

Suggestions for Healthy Holidays

December 19, 2004 --

Overeating at holiday meals may upset your stomach, increase your waistline and even make you drowsy during your drive home. As millions of people prepare to go out and celebrate this holiday season with food and drink, The Bellevue Hospital and the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) send a reminder that what you consume at these gatherings can impact your health, safety and sleep.

“Research shows that what and how much we eat and drink can affect our sleep,” said The Bellevue Hospital’s Margaret Schaffter, manager of the hospital’s Sleep Disorders Lab. “It can cause us to be overly sleepy when we want to be awake or even rob us of our necessary shut-eye. Over the long term, overeating and a poor diet can also lead to obesity.”

A recent study by USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University found that half of our annual weight gain is between Thanksgiving and the New Year. About 65 percent of Americans are now overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Obesity contributes to many health problems, including sleep apnea, a serious, potentially life-threatening sleep disorder characterized by brief interruptions of breathing during sleep.

William Orr, PhD, an NSF director and president and CEO of the Lynne Science Institute, notes that it is best not to drive or go to bed until at least two hours after you finish your meal. Waiting two hours allows your stomach to empty out and can help you avoid problems such as falling asleep at the wheel. According to the NSF’s 2002 Sleep in American poll, 17 percent of adult drivers or 14 million people said they have fallen asleep at the wheel, and about 100 million people admitted to driving while drowsy in the previous year.

Another sleep-buster that can be avoided by eating less or waiting at least two to three hours to go to bed is nighttime heartburn. Sixty-two percent of people who reported symptoms of insomnia said they experienced nighttime heartburn according to another NSF poll. Other studies have shown that people with frequent heartburn commonly complain of nighttime symptoms and sleep disturbance.

Tips for avoiding heartburn include limiting spicy condiments and citrus juices, which can irritate the esophagus and cause indigestion. Additionally, cut back on the foods that relax the sphincter valve between the stomach and the esophagus, allowing backflow of acid. These include chocolate, peppermint, fatty or greasy foods, fried foods, cream sauces, butter, margarine, mayonnaise, pastries, salad dressings and whole-milk dairy products. Throughout the day, curb your consumption of carbonated and caffeinated beverages such as coffee, tea and sodas to no more than 250 mg of caffeine.

To calculate how much caffeine you have consumed in a day, use the “caffeine calculator” located on the NSF website at www.sleepfoundation.org/caffeine.cfm. Avoid caffeine products and alcoholic drinks in the hours before bedtime.

To learn more information about sleep disorders, contact The Bellevue Hospital’s Sleep Disorders Lab at (419) 483-4040, Ext. 4244. The Sleep Disorders Lab is located at 855 W. Main St., Bellevue.

Holiday Eating & Sleeping

Suggestions for Healthy Holidays

The Bellevue Hospital, 1400 W. Main Street - P O Box 8004, Bellevue, Ohio 44811-8004 419-483-4040 Last modified: 11/11/04

The Bellevue Hospital, 1400 W. Main Street - P O Box 8004, Bellevue, Ohio 44811-8004 419-483-4040
Last modified: 11/11/04