Baghdad: Turns out, dietitians may be on to something. Experts say that eating an early dinner can actually improve your cognitive health. While one may not need to sign up for the early bird special, eating dinner about three hours before bedtime may do good things for brain health over both the short and the long term.

According to Iraqi News Agency, cognitive health refers to how well we think, learn, and remember. “Cognitive health isn’t just about preventing dementia later in life; it affects our productivity, emotional resilience, and quality of life right now,” says Jessica Cording, M.S., RD, CDN.

Improving it can have big benefits. But if eating dinner three hours before bed sounds extreme, keep reading to learn why it’s so effective, plus additional dinnertime strategies for better cognitive health.

“We know late meals, especially heavy ones, are known sleep disruptors,” says Maggie Moon, M.S., RD. Think back to the last time you ate a rich, creamy meal like fettuccine Alfredo or butter chicken close to bedtime. Chances are, it sat uncomfortably in your belly, making it harder to fall asleep.

But the effects of late-night meals go beyond just feeling full and disturbing your sleep quality. They also influence how well your brain functions. Sleep is like a deep cleanse for your brain, clearing away the day’s toxins, including amyloid-beta, a protein that forms pathogenic plaques linked to Alzheimer’s disease, says Moon.

When sleep is poor or disrupted, like when you eat too close to bedtime, this cleanup process may be less effective, negatively impacting short-term and long-term cognitive health.

Conversely, sound sleep improves both memory and cognitive performance the next day, notes Moon. That’s why it’s so important to treat both dinnertime and bedtime as appointments you can’t skip, even if you’re cramming for a test or preparing for a big presentation the next day.