Fruit before bed or as dessert: what is true about the myths?
Does fruit ferment in your stomach after a meal? And is eating fruit before bed a bad idea? What Belgian experts and small studies on kiwi and cherries say.
Exercising with a cold: why recreational athletes are better off doing the neck check than sweating it out
With symptoms above the neck, exercising with a cold is fine, with a fever it is not. Here is how to decide with the neck check and how to build up gently after a fever.
Sleeping pills after 65: why they give only 25 minutes of extra sleep on average and the new guideline limits them
Almost one in five people over 65 in Belgium recently took sleeping pills or sedatives. They give little extra sleep, and the new guideline focuses on an approach without pills.
Sleep in teenagers: why teens get tired later and what you can do as a parent
How many hours of sleep do teenagers need, why do teens naturally get tired later and what really helps at home? An overview with the advice of Gezond Leven.
Sleep with night shifts or early starts: what is realistic
If you work night shifts or start very early, your body clock works against you. What research says about the effects and how light, caffeine and a dark bedroom help you rest better.
Recognising sleep apnoea: when snoring is more than just snoring
Loud snoring, pauses in breathing and always feeling tired during the day can point to sleep apnoea. Which signs matter, how testing works in Belgium and what you can do yourself.
Stopping caffeine before sleep: how late can you drink coffee?
Gezond Leven advises no more coffee or tea after 3 p.m. A sleep study with 400 mg of caffeine also shows disruption up to six hours before bedtime. Here is how to set your own cutoff.
Alcohol and sleep: why a drink can disrupt your night’s rest
Alcohol can help you fall asleep, but it disrupts REM sleep, even at a low dose. What De Druglijn and a 2025 review say about that.
Lying awake at night: why getting up after 20 minutes can help
If you are wide awake at night, Gezond Leven advises getting up for a while after 20 minutes. Here is how the technique works and when it is better to see your GP.
A short afternoon nap: when 20 minutes help (or don’t)
Gezond Leven prefers to keep an afternoon nap under 20 minutes. When it helps, when it squeezes your night sleep, and what to do instead.
Phone outside the bedroom: an evening boundary that sticks
Keeping your phone outside the bedroom is a simple evening boundary. Why that physical distance can help, and how to handle the alarm and charging differently.
Warm evening light at home: how I soften screens and lamps
Bright light in the evening keeps me “on” too long. How I soften lamps and screens, with morning light as the counterpart, without therapy claims.
