At this point in life, many of us aren't quite sure how to get good sleep. There can be lots of reasons for this, but it can most likely be traced to a very simple relationship: sleep and diet. Certain foods keep you up past your bedtime. Avoid them and you just might find yourself sleeping better, perhaps like a baby!
1. Coffee. You know this, of course. In fact, the main reason we drink coffee is to stay alert. Some can down espressos all day long with no ill effect but most of us do feel the strains of too much caffeine when we're trying to sleep. Eight ounces of brewed coffee has 135 milligrams of caffeine; instant coffee has 95. If you're a Starbucks junkie, check out the caffeine content of their various drinks of their site.
2. Tea might seem like a good alternative to coffee, but it also contains quite a lot of caffeine. Eight ounces of tea made from tea leaves or a tea bag contains 50 milligrams of caffeine.
3. Green tea has lots of health benefits and it has become increasingly popular for that reason. But it also contains caffeine, 30 milligrams in eight ounces.
4. Mountain Dew might seem caffeine free because it's basically colorless but don't be fooled. Twelve ounces contain 55 milligrams of caffeine.
5. Diet Coke. Many of us drink this in place of coffee and it does have less caffeine but it's still enough to disrupt your sleep if you drink it too close to bedtime: 46 milligrams in 12 ounces.
6. Coke Classic. You might be surprised to learn that this contains less caffeine than Diet Coke, but still enough to keep you awake: 34 milligrams in 12 ounces.
7. Ben & Jerry's No Fat Coffee Fudge frozen yogurt. There are a million reasons why we love Ben & Jerry's but keeping us awake is not one of them. There are 85 milligrams of caffeine in one cup.
8. Haagen-Dazs coffee ice cream. A cup has 58 milligrams of caffeine.
9. Dannon coffee yogurt. This classic also contains caffeine: 45 milligrams in eight ounces.
10. Cocoa or hot chocolate. It's a favorite bedtime drink but not a good choice if you have trouble sleeping: 32 milligrams of caffeine in eight ounces.
