Sleep is one of the most important necessities of life, as is evidenced by the plethora of studies and articles recently published about this daily occurrence.

Whether it is the comforts necessary for a good night’s sleep or the fact that many people find that good sleep helps them keep their personal and professional dreams, what I have found is that sleep acts much like a nutrient, vital for keeping you healthy, just like the foods, beverages, and supplements people consume everyday.

If you don’t like to skip meals, why would you want to skimp on sleep? Believe it or not there are foods that should be avoided at or near bedtime. The following is a list of those foods which can rob you of precious hours of shut-eye.

Foods with cayenne pepper, chili flakes, curry powder, large amounts of garlic, jalapenos, and other spices may flavor your food, but they can keep you up at night by irritating your stomach and intestines with ailments like heartburn, indigestion, and acid reflux.

An evening meal over 500 calories can cause you to bloat and become overstuffed. Also, eating late can cause problems as your digestion could upset your sleep routine and cause you a fitful night of unrest.

Experts say that lunch should be your heaviest meal because you have the rest of the day to digest. Eating too late at night can also spark unhappy dreams and late night informercial watching because your upset stomach is keeping you awake.