# Is eating a lot of fruits before sleeping of "no consquence"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 24, 2003, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-eating-a-lot-of-fruits-before-sleeping-of-no-consquence/170873 "2003-04-24T15:47:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-eating-a-lot-of-fruits-before-sleeping-of-no-consquence/170873/1 "2003-04-24T15:47:02Z")
She asked me to ask people. So here I am. My mum has the habit of pushing a plate of fruits (no, make that a big tray filled to the brim with fruits) at **before** I sleep. In the past I told her - "Eating before sleeping is not good’. Well, she retorted “It’s fruit. It’s good for your health.” After some months (or years?), thinking that eating so much fruits before sleeping is bad, I reasoned with her once more “Look, fruits have calories. It’s not good to eat so much fruits the same reason why we shalln’t supper before sleeping.” Guess what she said? “It’s fruit. It’s good for your health. It’s all right!” Today was the final straw. And so we have a wager. So gentlemen and ladies, is it good or bad to eat a **big** plate of fruits, such as pears, oranges and apples, a few minutes before turning in for the night? PS. Usually I appreciate fruits. But **not before** when I want to catch fourty winks. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-eating-a-lot-of-fruits-before-sleeping-of-no-consquence/170873/2 "2003-04-24T16:03:20Z")
It’s not gonna kill you but it’s not the best habit either. Why cant you just eat it at some other, better time? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-eating-a-lot-of-fruits-before-sleeping-of-no-consquence/170873/3 "2003-04-24T16:08:29Z")
Medically, eating just before retiring is often discouraged as it can aggravate reflux, or “heartburn”. In many folks it can also disrupt sleep, as the initial digestive process is arousing (that is ‘wakening’) to a lot of individuals. Of course, some folks just nod right off after dining too. So if eating before going to bed bothers you, don’t do it. QtM, MD ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-eating-a-lot-of-fruits-before-sleeping-of-no-consquence/170873/4 "2003-04-24T16:15:35Z")
Couple of other items to consider: Many fruits (such as apples) have a chemical in them that stains the teeth. If you eat a lot of fruit just before retiring and don’t brush, your teeth can become seriously discolored over time. Also, many fruits (again, such as apples) can lead to excessive flatulence in some people. Nobody likes to wake up to bedsheets flapping in one’s own wind. Why on earth can’t your mother make the fruits part of an after-dinner snack, or better yet the dessert? That’d make more sense, to me. ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-eating-a-lot-of-fruits-before-sleeping-of-no-consquence/170873/5 "2003-04-24T16:17:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sailor \* > \*\*It’s not gonna kill you but it’s not the best habit either. Why cant you just eat it at some other, better time? \*\* The scenario goes like this - Me: I am going to sleep Ma: Oh, you haven’t have any fruits for the whole day! You are not going to bed, not after you finished up those! (pointing at the silver platter of fruits) I don’t get to choose when to eat those fruits. She just insist that I eat them and if I don’t, sure as the sun raises from the East, things would turn ugly. But that’s our…er famiy’s linens… ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-eating-a-lot-of-fruits-before-sleeping-of-no-consquence/170873/6 "2003-04-24T16:21:56Z")
Well, there is the old saying “It’s not what you eat, it’s when you eat”. But there is also the old saying “An apple a day helps keep the doctor away”. Is she overweight? Diabetic? The health benefits of the fruit are well known, the only negative is that she isn’t getting a chance to convert any of the calories before bed. If she doesn’t have a weight problem, I don’t see a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Hobie\_the\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e99b99/32.png) [@Hobie\_the\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hobie_the_One)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-eating-a-lot-of-fruits-before-sleeping-of-no-consquence/170873/7 "2003-04-24T17:26:34Z")
> [@](#): > > Ma: Oh, you haven’t have any fruits for the whole day Here’s the way around this: you (First thing in the morning): Hey Ma, can I have a large tray of fruit with breakfast? Good luck!