There’s nothing more frustrating that lying in bed unable to sleep. Stress, discomfort or worry can all prevent us dropping off, as can certain foods and drinks. There are top tips you can follow – eat early, eat light, and don’t drink too much fluid for a couple of hours before bed – but avoiding the following will also help you stave off insomnia or disrupted sleep.

Aged foods such as blue cheese, brie, feta, Cheddar and Parmesan contain an amino acid called tyramine, which boosts the secretion of the brain stimulant norepinephrine, causing wakefulness. Tyramine is also thought to be a culprit behind migraines. Pick a young cheese such as cottage cheese instead – it contains tryptophan, another amino acid but one that relaxes us and promotes sleep.

The same goes for aged or fermented meat such as bacon, chorizo, frankfurters, pepperoni and salami. They also contain the amino acid tyramine, which is thought to induce sleeplessness.

Yeast extracts, such as Vegemite or Marmite, or sourdough bread also contain high amounts of the amino acid tyramine, so are best avoided if you’re struggling to get to sleep.

As fermented foods such as soy sauce and fish sauce also have a high tyramine content, avoid these too close to bedtime too.

Up to 330mg of caffeine a day can have a positive effect, increasing alertness and concentration (one cup contains around 95mg). However, as it takes up to six hours for caffeine to leave the body if it’s drunk after 4pm it can cause sleeplessness. There’s also caffeine in tea (27mg a cup), decaffeinated coffee (up to 14mg) and certain medications. Drunk in the evening, these can have a deleterious effect on slumber not just because caffeine is a stimulant but because it has a diuretic effect.

According to Stephen T Beckett in The Science of Chocolate, dark chocolate contains around 44mg of caffeine per 100g, more than a can of cola (100g is the size of a large bar). It’s also rich in theobromine, another stimulant that quickens heart rate, and the plant chemical epicatechin, which widens blood vessels and has been found by researchers at London’s Kingston University to prolong energy in athletes. Overall, dark chocolate is an energy-inducing food that works against us winding down.

Web MD reported research that discovered people who ate fatty meals in the evening suffered from disrupted sleeping patterns. It's thought that rich meals stimulate digestion, encouraging bathroom visits.

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a flavor enhancer found in processed and packaged food, and often in Chinese food. Like aspartame, it’s an excitotoxin that has a stimulant effect in people who are sensitive to it, resulting in restlessness.

As well as containing that insomnia culprit tyramine, red meat is difficult to digest. Lying down soon after a heavy meal of steak or lamb will provoke your digestive system into working harder at a point when it should be slowing down. Cue indigestion or acid reflux; in fact, a US study discovered that up to a quarter of people who reported having poor sleep without good reason had undiagnosed reflux, which is often caused by certain foods.

Writing for the Cleveland Clinic, Dr Kathryn Teng explained that her excess thirst during the day led to numerous sleep-disrupting bathroom sprees at night. She discovered that she had a genetic sensitivity to salt, went on a low-sodium diet, started to drink less as a result and reduced her nocturnal toilet trips. A high sodium diet can also lead to water retention and high blood pressure, both of which can instigate sleep disturbances.

Any sodas containing caffeine such as all colas (Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Pepsi, Diet Pepsi and Red Rock Cola), Dr Pepper, Mountain Dew and some root beers contain between 16-55mg of caffeine per 12oz (an average can). Energy drinks, meanwhile, contain 70-200mg caffeine. As just a small amount can cause wakefulness, and it takes up to six hours for this stimulant to leave the body, any caffeine-related products should be avoided after 4pm.

If you suffer from discomforting acid reflux or indigestion, or are sensitive to chili peppers, spicy food is best avoided before bed. There are also indications that capsaicin, the active ingredient in chilies, cayenne and paprika, causes catecholamine release, which has a stimulating effect on the brain.

Foods high in refined sugars such as candy, cakes and ice cream, refined carbohydrates such as white bread, and even artificial sweeteners, can play havoc with our blood sugar levels. Eaten too close to bedtime the burst of energy refined foods give us disrupts our natural sleepiness. A lack of sleep is also attributed to an increased risk of diabetes, as it increases blood sugar levels, so too much sugar can trigger a vicious cycle. Ditch the nightly cocoa for warm milk instead.

While a small glass of tepid water before bed can hydrate the body after a day’s activity, much more fluid after 8pm can put a strain on the bladder and that will mean getting up at least once to use the bathroom. Try to drink more in the day, tapering off your fluid intake by early evening.

If you’re prone to acid reflux or indigestion then you may be better avoiding dishes rich in tomatoes as their high acid content can cause unpleasant after-effects and make sleeping difficult, especially as these conditions are generally worse when we’re lying down. Avoid three hours before bed.

Just a couple of drinks can affect sleep patterns advises drinkaware.co.uk. Alcohol sends us into a deep sleep too quickly, bypassing the first stage (rapid eye movement, or REM sleep). So instead of half a dozen REM cycles drinkers will get a couple. Dr John Shneerson, head of the sleep centre at Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, England, explains it’s “why you often wake up after just a few hours' sleep when you've been drinking." Booze is also a diuretic, increasing night-time bathroom trips.

We’re genetically programmed to respond to hunger pangs – they keep us alert so going to bed on an empty stomach can cause insomnia or fitful sleep. Dieting has the same effect, especially low-carb regimes such as Atkins, because carb-restricted diets fool the body into thinking it’s in starvation mode, making the adrenals work overtime and causing a drop in insulin sensitivity, which leads to sleeplessness and daytime tiredness and stimulating the hormone ghrelin, leading to food cravings.