Sleep, Food & The Living Terrain: Why What We Eat Matters at Night

In this week’s podcast, we explore the fascinating relationship between sleep and what we eat.

Food doesn’t simply provide energy. What we eat, when we eat and how our body responds to food can all influence the internal environment in which sleep takes place.

We look at the potential effects of meal timing, blood sugar regulation, caffeine, alcohol, digestion and nutrient availability, as well as the relationship between our circadian rhythm and the way the body processes food at different times of day.

Why can a heavy meal late at night leave us feeling restless? Why does caffeine affect some people far more than others? And could the timing of our meals be just as important as the food itself when we think about good-quality sleep?

Rather than looking at sleep as an isolated event, this episode considers it as part of the wider Living Terrain — where nutrition, metabolism, light, daily rhythms and lifestyle all interact.

As always, the podcast is intended for education and general interest rather than individual medical advice.