5 Foods to Avoid Before Sleeping the Night Before Your Big Day

With so much to do before your big day, it's easy to lose track of a successful wind-down routine. As a bride-to-be, it's important to look after yourself, which means getting plenty of sleep, eating the right foods, and relaxing whenever you can. Unfortunately, when you're exhausted from working on seating plans and music playlists all day, it's tempting to just eat junk food until you pass out in front of the TV.

While you might not be able to stick to the perfect diet all the way up to your big day, you can at least make sure that you're eating the right foods the night before your wedding. Here are the top foods you should avoid eating before you fall asleep on your last day of single life.

1. Fried Foods

Wedding planning causes a lot of stress, and stress often leads to bad dietary decisions. When you're feeling anxious, you might decide that you desperately need some late-night fried foods to help you calm down. Unfortunately, greasy and fatty foods move through the system a lot slower than carbs and proteins, which means that they keep you awake for longer. What's more, exposing yourself to greasy foods also increases your chances of ending up with zits and acne before your big day. Skip the drive-through no matter what.

2. Alcohol

Though not technically a food, alcohol is a consumable substance that you need to avoid at all costs the night before your wedding. Though it's tempting to celebrate with a few glasses of wine, alcohol will severely disrupt your sleep patterns. A drink can help you to drift off faster, but it also means that you wake up more often during the night. Red wine is particularly bad for brides-to-be because it contains unfermented yeast. This is a notorious bloater that causes you to feel slightly puffier and round the day after your drink.

3. Spicy Foods

Some people love spicy foods, particularly because hot peppers and spices are great for revving up the metabolism. A dose of spicy food might help you to burn through fat faster, but it will also ruin your chances of falling asleep by triggering heartburn and other gastrointestinal problems. If you're looking for a way to add flavor to your meal the night before your wedding, stick to herbs and subtle spices like Turmeric. Not only will Turmeric keep your body's core temperature balanced, but it will also help you to wake up looking fresh and radiant on the day of your wedding.

4. High Protein or High-Fat Meals

When you've got the pre-wedding jitters, the chances are your stomach will start to rumble in search of comfort foods. When that happens, you're likely to think that a high-fat or high-protein dinner will keep you feeling full and satisfied during the evening. However, research tells us that high levels of protein and fat are more likely to cause sleep disturbances by triggering high levels of certain amino acids. Additionally, the bigger the meal you eat before you go to bed, the more your digestive system needs to work to break everything down. If your stomach is still working when you're trying to fall asleep, you may face issues with indigestion.

5. Pizza

Finally, when you're exhausted the night before your wedding, and can't be bothered to cook, it's tempting to order in. However, eating a few slices of pizza will have more negative side-effects than good ones. The combination of acid in the tomato sauce and fat in the cheese leads to issues like acid reflux and gastrointestinal problems. Play it safe and leave the pizza for after your nuptials.

Guest Writer: Emma Carter with the Sleep.Report