Two of the most basic human needs are food and sleep. We love them both so much that we’ve idealized sleeping and eating as a leisure activity through engaging in activities like breakfast in bed or snacks during sleepovers. The question is though, is it actually a good idea to eat in bed?
At least once in our lives, a lot of us are guilty of munching on a snack or meal (or even meals) in bed. Some people may even be having a bite to eat in bed while reading this article! Even though we all need a decent amount of food and sleep each day, eating where we sleep is in fact unhealthy.
Crumbs and Creepy Crawlies
If you often eat in bed, food crumbs getting on your bed is unavoidable. It’s not just your sheets and mattress getting dirty, but you’re also letting those creepy crawlies feast on the stray food particles you leave behind. You don’t want to let cockroaches, flies and ants to join you in bed as they’ll eventually make their way into your whole house!
Spilled food or drinks can be a really good breeding ground for bacteria and fungi. Unless you’ve got a waterproof mattress, you’ll probably end up with some sticky stains that you may never fully be able to clean. As a result, inviting tiny bugs over for a sleepover or to stay.
Keeping Your Food Down
It may seem like a small detail, but you normally don’t sit the way you do in bed as you would at the dinner table. This means your digestive tract would then be put in an awkward position. Being in a more slanted or horizontal position, you’re at risk of acid reflux. This isn’t good for you, your food or the whole eating in bed experience.
Related Article: The Best Sleeping Position to Aid Digestion
More Eating but Less Sleeping
Who would’ve thought that there are also a couple of harmful psychological effects of eating in bed. The more frequently you eat in bed, the more your body will begin to associate that space with activities besides sleeping. This could include watching Netflix on a device, using social media and other activities you could do whilst eating in bed. All these activities disturb your sleep! Your body then ends up wide awake, anticipating other activities instead of associating your mattress and pillow with a good night’s sleep.
Eating in bed can also cause you to overeat. Most likely, we almost never just eat while we’re in bed. We’re probably engaging in other activities like browsing online, reading a book or watching a movie. Before we realize it, we’ve already eaten way more than we normally would’ve since we’re distracted.
So, is it OK to eat in bed? We’d say that it’s definitely not a good idea. It’s best to head over to the dining table for your meals while keeping your bed a sacred space to get your good night’s rest.