Q Are there foods I should avoid before bed?
A Caffeine, alcohol, and high-sugar foods disrupt sleep architecture, so it is recommended to avoid them starting 6 hours before bedtime.
Detailed Answer
Caffeine blocks adenosine receptors and suppresses sleepiness signals. With a half-life of about 5–6 hours, coffee after 2 p.m. calls for caution. Alcohol may seem to help you fall asleep through its initial sedative effect, but it reduces REM sleep and triggers early-morning awakening. High-sugar foods cause blood sugar to spike and then crash via the insulin response, becoming a cause of waking at dawn.
Korean Medicine Clinic Perspective
In Korean medicine, late-night eating injures the Stomach Qi (wigi), producing the phenomenon described as wibulhwa-jeuk-waburan—“when digestion is disturbed, sleep is disturbed.” At Dongjedang, we advise finishing meals 3 hours before bedtime; sipping a small amount of warm decoction of jujube and longan flesh can tonify the Heart Blood (simhyeol) and enhance the spirit-calming (ansin) effect.
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