mispoon says: chocolate is psychostimulant thanks to two substances: theobromine and caffeine

mispoon says: chocolate is psychostimulant thanks to two substances: theobromine and caffeine

Does your body need it before you go to bed?

Dark chocolate is probably the most pleasant superfood to eat. Most of us have the tendancy to crave for it at the second part of the day, especially at the middle of the afternoon. This is common phenomenon that I will explain at a later post. However, lots of us tend to have some choco-bites just after dinner, at this part of the day when the call for reward is just impossible to resist. Is this a good choice?

Well, data seem to tell us no. Multiple previous studies show that caffeine ingestion in the evening disturb the sleep cycle. One recent study showed however that particularly chocolate combined with prolonged screen time in the evening, increased day-time sleepiness in high school students (PMID: 28168182 ). On the contrary, high flavonoid chocolate (like dark chocolate) taken in the day, improved intellectual performances after sleep deprivation (PMID: 27088635).

Now add this to the fact that if you eat chocolate in the evening you blunt your night-time lipolysis (use of of fat as energy substrate) and choose:

Chocolate at bed-time or chocolate in the morning?