What are the effects of meal proximity to bedtime on sleep quality?

[oarfish]

I've been dealing with daytime fatigue for a while now, an issue that hasn't been resolved despite the identification of light obstructive apnea which I'm trying to treat with cpap and sleeping on my side.

Recently, I have been considering whether my typically late-ish evening meal might be another contributing factor. Since I started exercising in the morning before work (get up a 6, gym at 7), I have shifted my evening meal to be later than it would probably be otherwise, I think in a misguided effort to reduce the time between eating and exercising and to avoid getting hungry in the mornings. Now I don't really think I am in danger of that, and even then, would happily accept it if I could improve my overall alertness.

Is there evidence that eating close to bed time (for some definition of "close") negatively impacts sleep quality and feelings of restedness in individuals or larger populations? I always thought (without good reason) it was mainly a question of whether it would make it harder to fall asleep, but could it also degrade the quality of the sleep itself?

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Outside of individuals who get reflux, whereby eating before bed and then laying down exacerbates said reflux, it's not really clear that there's a reliable effect of the last meal's proximity to bed time. I don't think that's where I would start as far as modifying things to improve sleep quality and quantity.