The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that more than a quarter of the country's population occasionally does not get sufficient sleep. While worrying can keep you awake and disrupt your sleep, experts associate the type of food you eat to the quality and amount of sleep that you get at night.

Some food and drinks can get you to sleep better while some can negatively affect the quality of your sleep. In a study presented at the Experimental Biology 2014 meeting on April 28, Frank Greenway, from Louisiana State University, and colleagues found that tart cherry juice can be beneficial to people who have difficulty going to sleep.

Meanwhile, Susan Harding, from the UAB Sleep Center in Alabama, advise against eating a large meal right before bedtime and to stay away from caffeinated drinks because these are stimulants that can interrupt sleep patterns. Although alcohol can cause drowsiness, Harding also said that drinking alcohol before going to bed can disrupt sleep.

In an apparent cycle, how you sleep also affects what you eat and your likelihood to lose weight. Weight loss experts often recommend engaging in physical activities and keeping tabs of your diet, but it appears that you can maximize your efforts to lose those extra weight and fats by getting enough sleep at night.

A new study suggests that the quality and amount of sleep that you get at night may have an impact on your food choices. Lack of sleep can reduce your energy levels and this could prompt you to drink coffee or reach out for snacks. Although these foods can fuel you up and boost your energy, they contain more calories that can make you fat.

In a study published in the journal Obesity in January, researchers found a link between less hours of sleep and poor food choices. They observed that the women who participated in the study who sleep less than six hours at night tend to consume more calories than the participants who sleep for at least seven hours at night. Those who lack sleep were also likely to reach out for less nutritious food than women who get adequate sleep at night.