Eating Before Sleep

Hey,

I eat about 30 mins-3 hours before I sleep and was wondering if this is healthy?

I eat then because I am bulking, and also because I am hungry.

I’ve talked to my dad about this, and he doesn’t like it. He says it actually makes me “dumber” - reason being he believes instead of all my blood going to my brain for dreaming, it is also going to my stomach to digest the food. He’s been on my case for a while but I’ve just been brushing it off.

Is this something I should worry about? If not, what would be a good counter-arguement for this?

Thanks

First off tell your Dad he’s an idiot, and that you are actually dumber strictly as a result of his advice. In fact, we are all a little bit dumber now as a result. You have plenty of blood in your body to handle any of the processes necessary. You can’t starve your brain of blood.

It sounds like a lame parent’s excuse to try to get you to not do something, kind of like telling your 4yr old that Toys-R-Us is closed at 4:00 in the afternoon just because you don’t want to go (guilty…).

Secondly- eating prior to bedtime is a good thing. Make sure it’s slow digesting protein, and not a bunch of junk food though. Metabolic Drive is a great idea, but you could eat some cottage cheese or somthing similar. There are so many benefits to this, most listed somewhere on this site, that it would take me a week to list them all.

[quote]eengrms76 wrote:
You have plenty of blood in your body to handle any of the processes necessary. You can’t starve your brain of blood.[/quote]

That’s exactly what I had told him.

I’ll continue to eat, and he’ll continue to budge. No biggie, it’s just annoying.

I usually would eat cottage cheese, muscle milk, nuts, bagel, sometimes cereal, or chicken. I try to stick to casein-related proteins although I also like to throw in some carbs.

FWIW, I’ve noticed I get more vivid/weird dreams when I eat before bed.

Your brains fuel source is glucose which is why people feel dumber on long term low carb diets. This is also why complex carbs are recommended before big tests.

[quote]E-man wrote:
Your brains fuel source is glucose which is why people feel dumber on long term low carb diets. This is also why complex carbs are recommended before big tests.[/quote]

On low carb diets your body naturally switches from the use of gllucose to fuel your brain, to something in the fats, which I don’t know what it’s called. Look it up on the AD thread, theres like a whole page about it.

[quote]BlakedaMan wrote:
E-man wrote:
Your brains fuel source is glucose which is why people feel dumber on long term low carb diets. This is also why complex carbs are recommended before big tests.

On low carb diets your body naturally switches from the use of gllucose to fuel your brain, to something in the fats, which I don’t know what it’s called. Look it up on the AD thread, theres like a whole page about it.[/quote]

If you are referring to ketones, my experience can be summed up in two words: brain fog. That`s why I now try to follow a bordeline-ketosis (low carb) diet.

YA, but what about the dreaming. you can’t forget about the dreaming!!!

Since one of the purposes of sleep is to give your brain a rest, lets not worry about that.

Since your body can go catabolic in the wee hours of morning, a before bed snack is not a bad idea. Keep eating what you are eating, in moderation. It is a very “smart” thing to do.

T.Walton