Professor Huang Yan, a physician at Hongyun Traditional Chinese Medicine, stated that diet is an important aspect that cannot be ignored. For those who have poor sleep quality, the following five types of food should be avoided as much as possible.
First are spicy foods. Spicy items such as chili peppers, Sichuan pepper, and garlic are warm in nature and can easily generate heat. Excessive consumption can lead to excessive internal heat. This heat can disturb the spirit, causing irritability and making it difficult to calm down, which in turn affects sleep quality. As a result, one may feel restless and hot at night, making it hard to fall asleep, and even if sleep occurs, it is often accompanied by vivid dreams and frequent awakenings.
Next are greasy foods. Consuming too many greasy foods such as fried items and fatty meats can increase the burden on the spleen and stomach, leading to improper digestion and generating phlegm and dampness. This phlegm and dampness can obstruct the middle burner, affecting the rise and fall of qi, causing clear qi not to rise and turbid qi not to descend, which disturbs the spirit and influences sleep. For example, those who frequently consume fried foods like fried chicken or youtiao may often feel bloated in the stomach and heavy in body, and during sleep, they may experience breathing difficulties and loud snoring, severely affecting the depth and quality of sleep.
Furthermore, foods that cause bloating are to be avoided. These foods can produce a large amount of gas during digestion, such as legumes, onions, and potatoes. Traditional Chinese medicine states, “If the stomach is not harmonized, one cannot sleep well.” When the gastrointestinal tract is filled with gas, the discomfort is transmitted to the brain, making it difficult to fall asleep or causing interruptions in sleep.
Additionally, coffee and strong tea should be consumed sparingly. The caffeine and theine in coffee and strong tea have stimulating effects on the nervous system. Traditional Chinese medicine believes, “The heart governs the spirit; if the spirit is calm, one can sleep; if the spirit is restless, one cannot sleep.” Excessive intake of these stimulating beverages can keep the spirit in an excited state, making it difficult to calm down and thus affecting sleep.
Finally, sweet foods should also be limited. Sweet foods can easily generate dampness and heat, damaging the spleen and stomach. When the functions of the spleen and stomach are disordered, it leads to a lack of source for the production of qi and blood, causing the spirit to become malnourished, which can also affect sleep. Moreover, consuming too many sweet foods may lead to fluctuations in blood sugar levels, triggering stress responses in the body, thereby affecting sleep.
Doctor’s Profile:
Huang Yan, Chief Physician at a public Grade-A tertiary hospital in Guangzhou, Professor.
Specializes in: Integrative diagnosis and treatment of neurological and other internal diseases, such as stroke (cerebral infarction, cerebral hemorrhage, etc.), dizziness, headache, dementia, epilepsy, tremors, insomnia, depression, etc.
