Medications, meal timing can interfere with sleep

Certain behaviors can spike anxiety and harm sleep quality, says UCI Health expert

IN THE NEWS: It’s common for feelings of anxiety to arise in the evening when activities begin to quiet down.

Certain behaviors can make it worse like doomscrolling or checking work emails at bedtime. Even medications and meals play a significant role.

UCI Health psychiatrist and sleep medicine specialists Dr. KyoungBin K. Im spoke to Verywell Health about how mealtimes affect sleep. He noted how a patient who practiced intermittent fasting would wake up in the middle of the night because their last meal had been at 11 a.m.

“It’s just not about just how heavy or what kind of meals you are having—[the timing of] these meals can actually have an impact too by either advancing or delaying the [body’s] circadian rhythm.”

Im also says that certain prescriptions can interfere with sleep when taken later in the day.

“Stimulating medications, like ADHD medications, have a similar effect as caffeine.”

Im is a board-certified UCI Health psychiatrist who specializes in psychiatry and sleep medicine. His research and clinical interests encompass sleep disorders, including insomnia, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, restless leg syndrome, parasomnias and circadian rhythms. He has led many sleep research projects as a principal investigator and has published more than 40 research papers and book chapters on sleep medicine and neuropsychiatric conditions. His research interests include sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, hypersomnolence and circadian rhythms. He also has given presentations at more than 20 national and international meetings.

Make an appointment at UCI Health Sleep Medicine Services by calling 714-509-2230.

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