Health Corner: What to Eat When You Can’t Sleep

Caffeine, dinner and late-night snacks all matter when you suffer from insomnia We live in a world of verbs. We eat and drink. We work. We play. We scroll. We run, read and riff about the latest news coming out of D.C. We love, listen and learn. Every moment of every day is about “doing.” These verbs – no matter which you engage in – form and define our lives. Yet, wellness expert Michael Roizen, MD, says we treat one of the most vital verbs of every 24-hour cycle – sleep – as a footnote, rather than the main text. “Sleep has become a cultural sacrificial lamb,” Dr. Roizen says. “We’d rather work late than get enough ZZZs. We’d rather binge on Bravo. We’d rather stalk social media. Or maybe our bodies just cannot shut down, or health problems make it hard to fall or stay asleep.” In any case, the reality is a harsh one, he says. “Our lack of sleep isn’t just a boon for the coffee shop industry. It’s slowly killing us,” Dr. Roizen says. Why is sleep deprivation is such a big deal? Dr. Roizen doesn’t take a lack of sleep lightly. In fact, he says people don’t put lack of sleep in the same category as cigarettes or obesity because fatigue is more of a behind-the-scenes health threat – one that has a steady, creeping effect on our bodies. But the risks associated with lack of sleep are big. Here’s how it works: While you’re sleeping, your body and brain cycle through various stages – ranging from light sleep to deep sleep. You go through that cycle several times a night. It sure feels like nothing is going on – after all, you’re not aware of anything, except maybe that wacky dream about a tornado, a marching band and your seventh-grade math teacher. That’s maybe one of the reasons people don’t give sleep as much attention as they should: They don’t feel anything the way they “feel” exercise or a change in eating habits. So it’s easy to think that sleep is, well, just a whole lot of nothing. But that’s not the case. When you’re closed for business, your body’s cells start their work. “Think of the inside of your body as a big factory of shift workers,” Dr. Roizen says. “Cells clock in when you shut down. All day long, your body – at work, during exercise, while you’re going about your day – has been put through a series of cellular stresses.” For example, when you use your muscles, they can experience little microscopic tears. That same kind of stress happens all over your body in all kinds of organs, tissues and systems throughout the day. So you can imagine what happens if you don’t give these cellular fixers enough time to work. Your body never gets fully repaired, making you weaker, more susceptible to further insults, and a lot less healthy. In practical terms, Dr. Roizen says, that means lack of sleep can contribute to immune problems, memory issues, higher stress levels and even obesity. Because your brain never fully rids of its waste products (the “poop” from your brain cells is removed at night, and is done more efficiently the longer you sleep), you can develop inflammation in your memory centers as well.