I’ve stopped eating at least 6 hours before i go to bed during the last two weeks and my sleep has much improved (drifting off quicker, not waking up, feeling better in the morning etc).
I read that food can take between 6-8 hours to leave the stomach and small intestine and you shouldn’t eat before bed as the body’s metabolism slows down so it’s more difficult to digest things during the night. Perhaps this is why i’m sleeping more soundly?
I’ve found the opposite. If I fast for more than 24 hours, I struggle tremendously with sleep. I imagine it’s because my sympathetic system is somewhat in overdrive vs normal eating days, keeping me wired.
I do tend to always sleep better if I eat a small amount of carbohydrates before bed, too. I always figured it was because my body was in ‘rest and digest’ (parasympathetic actions of digestion kicking in). If I eat too much, however, then yeah… I struggle to sleep.
I don’t think digestion during sleep is slowed down significantly (at least I’ve not come across this), but lying down very soon after eating could increase the likelihood of acid reflux.