Drinking hot milk is an old-fashioned way to make you sleepy for bedtime. While the milk may help you relax, choosing full-fat milk can upset your digestive tract and pad your diet with too many extra calories. Drinking hot milk at night may be fattening if you do not work off those extra calories during the active part of your day.
Milk Before Bed
The warm milk may help you feel more relaxed as it fills your belly. The calcium in milk also induces relaxation. Milk contains an amino acid called tryptophan, which the body makes into the sleep hormone serotonin. The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences reveals that the average glass of milk does not contain enough tryptophan to truly induce sleep.
Weight Gain
Eating or drinking more calories than you burn during the day can cause weight gain. It takes an additional 3,500 calories to gain 1 lb. of weight. An 8 oz. glass of whole milk contains 146 calories. Assuming you eat just enough calories to maintain your weight, the inclusion of a nightly glass could cause you to gain more than 15 lbs. over the course of a year.
Fat Considerations
Whole milk contains 8 g of fat per 8 oz, all of which are saturated. Consuming too much saturated fat can cause weight gain. It can also raise your cholesterol levels and increase your risk of developing heart disease. Even reduced fat milk with 2 percent milk fat contains 5 g of fat per cup, 3 g of which are saturated. The American Heart Association recommends keeping saturated fat content to less than 15 g per day for a 2,000-calorie diet, or 7 percent of daily calorie intake.
Options
Choosing skim milk saves you 63 calories per 8 oz. If you add 1 cup of skim milk per night, just trim 83 calories at another meal during the day. You could cut 1 tbsp. of butter on your morning toast, skip a cup of low-fat yogurt or a string cheese at snack time or cut out 2 oz. of chicken at dinnertime.
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