We’re all well-versed on the snacks to avoid for high blood pressure – but what if you were told that the timing becomes particularly important? A nutritionist has cautioned that anyone who habitually reaches for takeaways or salty snacks before bed could be doing far more than disrupting their sleep.Registered associate nutritionist Holly Caske, at the gut health brand Biomel, explained that the single habit she’d tell patients to change first is eating late, heavy, salt-rich foods close to bedtime.“This could include the takeaway, ready meal or large plate of food eaten close to bedtime.The heart and blood vessels get a period of respite at night | GETTYTiming matters for blood pressure because it naturally dips overnight – one of the few times the heart and blood vessels get a period of reduced strain.So when a salty meal is consumed late at night, it forces the body to process a sodium and fluid load at exactly the point it should be winding down.“Eating a substantial salty meal late means the body is handling a sodium and fluid load at exactly the point it’s trying to wind down, which may not be conducive to the normal overnight fall in blood pressure.”Her advice is not to cut out evening meals altogether but to rethink them.“The change I usually suggest is modest: bring the main meal forward where possible, make the evening meal the lighter one, and lean on herbs, spices, citrus and aromatics for flavour instead of salt.Potassium-rich foods, leafy greens, beans, potatoes with the skin and tomatoes can also help balance out sodium’s effects on the body.“Evening habits sit immediately upstream of the window in which blood pressure is meant to fall, so anything that interferes has the whole night to exert its effects.The timing of meals is important when managing blood pressure | GETTY“A morning misstep has a full day of movement, daylight and normal metabolic activity to buffer it.”It’s not about adhering to strict rules but rather about being mindful of what, and how late, you eat before bed – particularly where salt is concerned.