Speaker 1: Hi. I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy V. Wilson, and
Speaker 1: we're the co hosts of Stuff You Missed in History Class.
Speaker 1: We are a history podcast that tries to look at
Speaker 1: the things that maybe we're overlooked in your history classes,
Speaker 1: maybe not covered in as much detail, or frankly, maybe
Speaker 1: covered in a way that was not accurate. New episodes
Speaker 1: come out every Monday and Wednesday on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify,
Speaker 1: or anywhere else that podcasts can be listened to. Welcome
Speaker 1: to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. What's up, brain Stuff?
Speaker 1: I'm Christian Sager and it is time for some brain stuff.
Speaker 1: Have you ever been up alone at night scarfing down
Speaker 1: some buffalo wings dipped in kim chi and vindaloo, but
Speaker 1: you fall asleep on the couch and you start having
Speaker 1: these terrible nightmares? What is up with that? Why does
Speaker 1: some foods make us have such weird dreams? Well, so
Speaker 1: far science is yet to find a direct corelation between
Speaker 1: certain types of foods and how we dream. But an
Speaker 1: excessive amount of rich nocturnal eating can interrupt your sleep
Speaker 1: in a variety of ways. Really, any type of physical
Speaker 1: discomfort while you're sleeping can lead to bad dreams. But
Speaker 1: when your tummies are rumbling, that's when the monsters really
Speaker 1: come scurrying out of that trapdoor in the back of
Speaker 1: your head. For instance, late night snacks increase both your
Speaker 1: body's metabolism and temperature, which makes you hot and sweaty,
Speaker 1: especially when you have a high carbohydrate meal. Ditto if
Speaker 1: you have a bunch of doughnuts or candy bars before
Speaker 1: you pass out. A recent study shows that seven out
Speaker 1: of ten people who eat junk food before bed are
Speaker 1: more likely to have nightmares. These researchers hypothesized that the
Speaker 1: high levels of sugar lead to physical sleep discomfort, which
Speaker 1: brought the monsters out from under their beds. Another type
Speaker 1: of upset stomach that leads to a bad night's sleep
Speaker 1: is acid reflux, also known as GIRD or just plain
Speaker 1: old heartburn. More than a third of America have this condition.
Speaker 1: I'm one of them, where burning, acidic bile comes creeping
Speaker 1: up your esophagus. If you've had this happened, doctors recommend
Speaker 1: that you don't eat within three hours of bedtime, and
Speaker 1: that you try lifting your head forty five degrees to
Speaker 1: keep the acid down. Also, you probably shouldn't have citrus onions,
Speaker 1: carbonated drinks, mint alcohol, or cigarettes before you go to sleep.
Speaker 1: I know, I know, boring, right, but cutting down on
Speaker 1: this stuff will keep the sleep goblins away. So it's
Speaker 1: either be careful what you eat or back to a
Speaker 1: pit of despair filled with evil clowns for you. Actually,
Speaker 1: there's an interesting food connection between general anxieties and why
Speaker 1: we sleep poorly. When our bodies are stressed, they flush
Speaker 1: out the mineral magnesium, which increases our mental burden, so
Speaker 1: we sleep poorly. You can head this off if you
Speaker 1: eat healthy prior to enduring stressful periods. You retain some magnesium,
Speaker 1: helping you maintain a normal sleeping pattern. And there's our
Speaker 1: old friend, insomnia, which can be caused by a variety
Speaker 1: of food and drinks. How about meat or other high
Speaker 1: protein foods. Well, it turns out protein supplies your brain
Speaker 1: with the amino acid tyrosine, which makes you more alert,
Speaker 1: and food high in protein is usually also high in fat,
Speaker 1: which digests slowly, causing a rumble in the bronx. If
Speaker 1: you know, the bronx is what you call your belly. Plus,
Speaker 1: remember how carbohydrates bring on the night sweats while they
Speaker 1: also speed up tripped to fan and amino acid in
Speaker 1: your brain that helps you sleep, So if you don't
Speaker 1: eat enough carbs before bed, it's harder to get to sleep.
Speaker 1: My recommendation a small carbohydrate snack in the evening will
Speaker 1: promote calmness and help you catch some z's. Finally, alcohol
Speaker 1: and caffeine before bed can make insomnia even worse, so
Speaker 1: no double fisting coffee and beer, and you probably shouldn't
Speaker 1: drink energy booze drinks like juice for loco or fusion either.
Speaker 1: In fact, i'd recommend staying away from drinks with purposely
Speaker 1: misspelled names. It's just you know, a general a rule.
Speaker 1: Even the United States Food and Drug Administration called these
Speaker 1: drinks a public health concern back in two thousand and ten,
Speaker 1: and the Center for Disease Control has an entire fact
Speaker 1: sheet about the dangers of mixing alcohol and energy drinks,
Speaker 1: and it doesn't even get into the whole not being
Speaker 1: able to get to sleep thing. So there you have it.
Speaker 1: Food doesn't necessarily give us nightmares, but the uncomfortable feelings
Speaker 1: that come with eating certain meals. Can check out the
Speaker 1: brain stuff channel on YouTube, and for more on this
Speaker 1: and thousands of other topics, visit how stuff works dot com,