How well do you sleep as an expert in healthy eating ?

Anna Hüsing is a nutritionist and gives us a very personal insight into her sleeping habits. She explains how a good diet is linked to healthy sleep and gives us great tips for a sleep-friendly, balanced diet.

Table of contents

Our expert: nutritionist Anna Hüsing
How well does the nutritionist sleep?
More tips & useful information on nutrition & sleep

1. Our expert: nutrition professional Anna Hüsing

Our sleep depends on many different factors and even as an expert in the field, you are not immune to a bad night. Anna Hüsing is a qualified nutritionist and food scientist and currently works as a lecturer at the IST Study Institute in Düsseldorf. In our podcast she told us what breakfast she starts her day with and how she manages to make her everyday life healthy and sleep-friendly.

2. How well does our food & nutrition expert sleep?

[An interview with Anna Hüsing]

Would you generally say that you sleep well?

Yes, definitely. I'm in bed by ten at the latest, sleep through until six and then I jump out of bed like toast from a toaster. It's almost disgusting how well that works for me, but I'm really happy about it. Sometimes it works Fall asleep not so, then I kind of get lost in my own thoughts, but all in all I sleep really well.

Do you often have trouble falling asleep?

Sometimes it takes a moment, but it's not a long-term problem. It's usually when I'm going through stressful phases, like exam periods at university or a stressful time at work. I find that so mentally exhausting that I can't relax very well.

Approximately how many hours do you sleep per night?

I can always get a good 7 to 7.5 hours in if I sleep from about 10pm to 6am. I usually wake up a little before the alarm goes off, so I can lie down for a few minutes and then I can get up feeling pretty relaxed. It's really rare that I feel exhausted.

Are you more of a lark or an owl?

Probably a classic early riser. I actually get up earlier than I need to for my job because I can't do much in the evening after work because then everything just shuts down. I definitely use the morning for organizational things or anything that requires a lot of brainpower. I also do housework or go to the gym in the morning. When I'm tired, I get whiny - it's like when other people are hungry. In the evening, I usually don't get as much done.

Do you have a morning or breakfast routine?

So first I have to go to the bathroom and brush my teeth, then I wash my face and from then on it is incredibly different - including whether I want to eat breakfast or not. Sometimes I absolutely need a lot and sometimes a handful of nuts is enough and then I can't eat properly until two hours later. But I need my biggest meal in the morning or mid-morning.

What do you like to eat for breakfast?

Bread! I've eaten that since I was a child and I like it that way. I don't feel as full after eating porridge or yogurt and I know that I need the feeling of chewing to feel really full. There are different receptors that trigger satiety, and it's not just the expansion of the stomach.Therefore, I usually eat bread with spread.

Do you need a coffee to wake up?

I don't need it to be awake, so for me it's just pleasure.

How did you come to focus intensively and professionally on nutrition?

I think I've always been curious. As a child, I always had a sandwich with me for lunch, which I thought was really stupid at the time. All the children swapped with each other because they had a chocolate bar or a cereal bar or something else that was packaged. Unfortunately, I was never able to swap with them because my siblings and I always had a sandwich, a good sandwich and nicely cut fruit and vegetables. My mom always prepared it carefully so that we really had something with substance.

I think that's what gave rise to such curiosity or even interest in differences in nutrition. Questions like: Why is a pepper important? Why does it have vitamin C and what is that? What do the different colors of peppers mean? I became really curious about what is in our diet and what nourishes us.

“Healthy eating” is not always easy to integrate into everyday life. What is your absolute favorite motivational tip?

If I have to decide how I will spend the next few days in terms of nutrition or exercise, it can help to imagine that you have to look after the body of your sister, mother, etc. Then ask yourself: How would I look after this body and what would I give this body? And why don't I do that for myself?

The body is not only my vehicle, I can also give something good back. Maintaining this balance of give and take really motivates me to do something for myself and eat healthily.

3. More tips & useful information on nutrition & sleep

In our special podcast series about healthy eating, you can learn even more about Anna Hüsing and discover exciting details about the important connection between sleep behavior and healthy eating. Click here for the podcast ➨

Best regards!