Advantages and Disadvantages of Drinking Milk Before Bedtime

Milk health benefits and drawbacks has been a debatable subject over past few years, as milk is actually rich in calcium, vitamin D, and healthy fats but it has also been associated with some health ailments such as gastric, weight gain, difficulty in digestion, mucus production, bloating and many more. However, the true fact about milk is it is highly beneficial for bone health especially for people dealing with osteoporosis, low bone density, and arthritis. But we are here today, to discuss about the advantages and disadvantages of drinking milk in a specific time which is before bedtime.

In a day, there are specific time when milk affects your organ functioning because sun’s heat helps to digest milk easily while at night time drinking milk can cause digestive issues including gastric problems. Many researches have also found that drinking milk before bed can help in getting better quality sleep and also reduces stress and anxiety by relaxing body cells and tissues. But we will get to the benefits and drawbacks in details.

Let’s have a brief look:

Advantages of Drinking Milk Before Bedtime

1. Induces deep sleep

Cow’s milk has essential amino acids that are known for sleep-inducing effect. According to the National Sleep Foundation, tryptophan, the amino acid plays a vital role in assisting your body to generate serotonin which actively reduces anxiety allowing your mind to relax and get deep quality sleep, which is one of the best advantages of drinking milk before bedtime.

2. Helps you fall asleep quickly

Another hormone which regulates the sleep-wake cycle or say circadian rhythm of your body is called melatonin, which is also found in milk. Every individual has different melatonin hormone levels and they’re regulated by your body’s internal clock. Normally, melatonin levels spike in the body after the evening or after sunset, which signals the brain that it’s time to sleep. However, if your brain is tired as your body at bedtime, a glass of milk before bed could boost your melatonin hormone levels to make you fall asleep faster.

3. Reduces stress and anxiety

Milk has a special protein called as lactium that generates a soothing influence on the body by depleting blood pressure which further relaxes the muscles and lowers cortisol levels, which is the stress hormone. Lactium also affects the brain receptors to help in regulating stress and anxiety. According to the National Sleep Foundation, tryptophan also helps in reducing anxiety by boosting serotonin levels.

4. No hunger pangs

Usually, people get hungry at night and get late-night cravings. A glass of warm milk can help you to get enough protein and calcium before going to sleep which helps you feel full all night and get undisturbed sleep, which is another advantage of drinking milk before bedtime.

5. Alleviates constipation

Milk is high in both insoluble and soluble fibers. Soluble fibers are required in small quantities by your body, as they bond with sugar and fat molecules to delay your digestion, therefore, milk before bed is highly recommended for people those who have constipation issues.

Disadvantage of Drinking Milk Before Bedtime

1. Gastric and bloating

A glass of warm milk before bedtime creates discomfort to your body by upsetting your stomach which is one of the real disadvantages of drinking milk before bedtime. Digestive issues such as bloating, gastric, stomach ache, cramps or diarrhea are some of the most common associated risks involved for individuals with lactose intolerance.

2. Increased blood sugar levels

Milk has lactose and lactose is basically sugar. Large amounts of lactose consumption before bed can have specific intimations such as sugar crash, in simple words, high levels of sugar in blood stream. For people with glucose intolerance, a warm glass of milk can cause Glucose Sugar Crash.

3. Weight gain

If you’re concern about your weight gain, you need to stop consuming milk before bedtime. Milk is actually popular for helping in healthy weight gain in the fitness community groups. 1 glass of milk has approximately 120 calories. Human metabolism slows down a little bit while sleeping, hence, the calories consumed at night become tough to digest and burn which causes weight gain over a period of time.

4. Hampers liver functioning

Another disadvantage of drinking milk before bedtime is it interferes with the healthy functioning of liver. As, at night time liver functions actively to get the toxins ready to be flushed, however milk at night interferes with this detoxifying process that hampers liver functioning. 

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• Why Milk Should Be a Daily Part of Our Diet?