Can Chocolate Disturb Your Sleep?

So yes, we only lost an hour when the clocks went forward at the end of March but believe it or not, it can take some people a long time to adjust to the time change and get over the effect on their body clock. It would seem then, that the long Easter weekend could provide the perfect opportunity to recover.

But is eating copious amounts of chocolate the right way to go about it?

Chocolate itself contains over 500 different substances, including, as most people are aware, caffeine. But just how much caffeine does it contain? It’s not actually that easy to find out! According to Google, dark chocolate contains 43mg of caffeine per 100g and milk chocolate about 20mg per 100g but according to the NHS figures, it could be double this! They state that there is about 50mg of caffeine in a 50g bar of milk chocolate.

Of course, these figures are generalisations and don’t take into consideration that there are numerous different types of dark chocolate, from 70% cocoa all the way up to 100% - it’s unlikely that their caffeine contents are the same. Indeed, Green and Blacks reports that their organic 70% dark chocolate contains only 16mg of caffeine per 100g.

According to NHS figures, a mug of instant or filter coffee contains around 100mg of caffeine, a cup of tea made from tea bags about 75mg and a can of coke about 40mg.

If you are regularly having sleep problems, are pregnant or have another condition for which caffeine control is important, it really is worth some research. Current UK rules mean that packaging only needs to state caffeine contents if the product contains more than 150mg per litre. In these cases, the product must be labelled ‘high caffeine content’.

Equally, since December 2014 if caffeine is purposely added to a product the manufacturer needs to state that the product is ‘not recommended for children or pregnant women’. In general though, packaging doesn’t need to state caffeine contents because it’s not classed as a ‘nutrient’ but a ‘natural chemical’.

In addition to caffeine, chocolate also contains other stimulants. One is theobromine, the compound that makes chocolate dangerous to dogs and cats because they metabolize it so slowly. Theobromine increases the heart rate and can cause sleeplessness. It is found in higher quantities in dark chocolate but not at all in white chocolate (which also, interestingly, contains very little caffeine).

On the other hand, dark chocolate contains 327mg of magnesium per 100g (compared to 86mg in beans and lentils). Magnesium is well known for its ability to relieve insomnia and one study found that it helps decrease cortisol, the “stress hormone” that can keep you up at night. It also helps muscles relax, to give you that calm “sleepy” feeling and help you unwind after a long day.

The bottom line seems to be that chocolate eaten too close to bedtime could have an effect on your sleep but how much will vary depending on a whole host of factors.

Happy Easter to you all from Dormeo UK!

If you have any questions or queries, we are on hand any time to answer them, free, on 0800 625 0134.