Can Certain Foods Keep My Child Awake at Night?
This article comes to us from guest blogger and child-feeding expert; Kristen Yarker from kristenyarker.com. She provides us with another commonly asked question about food and sleep. You can read Kristen’s previous guest blog articles, “Will Starting Solids Help Your Baby Sleep Better” here and “How to Stop Your Toddler’s Food-Related Stalling Tactics” here and ” Are Snacks at Bedtime a Good Idea?” here.
A parent recently asked Joleen this question. Being a food-related question, she forwarded it on to me:
We gave our 2.5 year old daughter Frosted Mini-Wheats right before bed. She slept worse than usual. Did the snack keep her up at night?
In a nutshell: maybe.
Let me expand.
Mini-Wheats (original) have a fair amount of sugar in them – 10 grams in 21 pieces (that’s 2 ½ teaspoons of sugar). When scientific researchers investigate the effect of sugar on kids, they find no effect on their behaviour. However, many parents do find that giving their kids foods high in sugar is associated with “hyper” behaviour.
I don’t have a way to explain this gap.
What I do know is that each person is unique. Many of us have sensitivities to foods that the scientific community can’t explain. So, it could be that the sugar or something else in the cereal that interrupted this little girl’s sleep. Or, it could have been something completely unrelated.
With this in mind, I recommend being a bit of a scientist yourself with your kids – use your observation skills. If you’re finding that some nights your child goes to bed well and other nights are a struggle, do some record keeping. Take as detailed of notes as possible (yes, actually write it down) about everything that happened that day. Your child’s eating (both what they ate and at what times) is just one aspect of their day. Look for any patterns that arise.
Circling back to this parent’s original question, the cereal isn’t what I would suspect initially as the culprit for their child’s rough night. But I wouldn’t rule it out as a possibility. I’d consider it after ruling out all the other more likely possibilities.
Kristen Yarker, MSc, RD
Child-Feeding Expert
Helping Moms and Dads support their picky eaters to try new foods on their own (without being forceful or sneaky)
www.facebook.com/KristenYarkerNutrition
Twitter: @kristenyarker
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Have you ever found that certain foods effect your child’s ability to either fall asleep or sleep solidly at night? Tell us about it in the comments below!
