Dieting sometimes requires knowing the right balance between hunger and a full stomach. Any discomfort you feel before bed could affect your sleep. Eating too much will make it difficult to sleep, but eating too little can also cause you to wake up hungry and keep you awake. If you’ve been dieting for a while, it might be hard to discern hunger (via Sleepopolis).
What you eat during your diet can affect your sleep. Diets high in carbs can cause sleep disturbances and reduce the REM cycle of your sleep, and foods rich in nutrients such as B vitamins and zinc might help you sleep better.
A severe restriction in your daily calories can cause the stress hormone cortisol to rise well before your alarm is set to go off. That could mean waking up at 4 a.m. Cortisol isn’t the only hormone that’s affected by dieting. When you don’t get enough food to sustain you, your body could produce more insulin, which can interfere with sleep. If your sleep is disrupted, the hunger and satiety hormones get out of balance, increasing your appetite for foods that can sabotage your diet. Restricting your calories too much while you’re dieting can also reduce how much melatonin your body produces.