5. Salty snacks
If you’re not into sweets, salty snacks like chips, pretzels, nuts, and popcorn might seem like the perfect evening snack. But, surprisingly, they could be messing with your sleep.
A fascinating study found that eating salty foods before bed can really disrupt your sleep. People who snacked on salty treats took longer to fall asleep and woke up more often during the night. Now, we all know that deep sleep—when your body slows down and you finally relax—is super important. But there’s another phase of sleep that’s just as crucial: REM sleep. That’s when your brain kicks into gear, and you start dreaming. REM sleep is when your mind does its best restoration work. Sadly, salty snacks can make you sleep so deeply that you miss out on this restorative phase, leaving you feeling groggy and less rested the next day.
In short, munching on salty foods before bed could lead to tossing and turning, and you might lose out on two or three hours of quality sleep.
