I Found Firsthand That Eating Chocolate Before Bed Can Ruin Your Sleep

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I never have trouble getting to sleep at night; I have three little kids, so by the end of the day, I’m exhausted!

But I often found myself waking up at about three or four in the morning.

I tried all the things that doctors and officials recommend. I kept my room at a cold temperature, made sure it was dark, stopped using the phone an hour before bed, and more.

None of it seemed to work.

Then, I found one small part of my evening routine that I had overlooked. When I changed it, my sleep improved dramatically. Now, I can sleep all the way through the night.

What change did I make? I stopped eating chocolate before bed.

Before, I would treat myself to a little dessert of Ghirardelli chocolate before going to sleep. For those who haven't tried it, Ghirardelli is delicious; I like their dark chocolate, and I would often eat the equivalent of a small candy bar.

I didn’t think much of this routine. What could be bad about having a little treat before I go to sleep?

It turns out that I may have been sabotaging my sleep without knowing it. As the New York Times shares, eating chocolate before going to bed can cause sleep disruptions.

According to experts, chocolate contains caffeine. Depending on the type of chocolate, it can contain quite a lot.

Even a small dark chocolate bar, like the ones I would eat before bed, can contain 30 to 70 mg of caffeine. That’s about the same as a cup of tea.

Experts say that even this amount of caffeine, as well as theobromine (another chemical in chocolate), can seriously disrupt your sleep. In my case, it probably didn’t have time to kick in before I fell asleep. But as the caffeine took effect, it would wake me up in the middle of the night and make it hard to get back to sleep.

By eliminating chocolate, I also eliminated the caffeine that came with it. And it made a huge difference!

The moral of the story is that if you’re having trouble sleeping, you should consult a doctor or nutritionist. If I had gotten an expert involved earlier, I probably could’ve spotted this small but impactful change.

I’m a little sad not to have my bedtime chocolate. I replaced it with halva, a delicious sesame and sugar snack.

Now if I could get my three kids to sleep through the night, I’d be set!