Trouble Sleeping? Seven Easy Food Tips for a Good Night’s Sleep

Trouble Sleeping? Seven Easy Food Tips for a Good Night’s Sleep

Here’s what you should be eating through the day to help yourself sleep better at night.

Everyone needs sleep. But most of us aren’t really getting enough. Unfortunately, there's no button to push that instantly puts you to sleep and wakes you up feeling refreshed. So we must prepare ourselves right through the day to sleep well before bedtime. To snooze better, try these time tested and very effective tips and tricks to doze off quickly and comfortably.

Also Read: Losing Just One Night’s Sleep Linked to Alzheimer’s Disease

Grow Some Sleep

Go for herbs instead of pills.

Switch to herbs instead of sleeping pills to improve the quality of sleep without feeling groggy the next morning. Begin with lavender and chamomile. They are sleep-inducing. Plus, there’s an added benefit. Gardening has been proven helpful in calming the nerves, so growing them at home will deliver a double bonus!

Also Read: An Antioxidant in Green Tea May Help Tackle Tuberculosis: Study

Keep Your Gut Happy

If you eat a heavy meal late in the day, your body will have to work hard to digest it while you’re trying to sleep.

One of the best ways to ruin a good sleep is to upset your gut. You really need to keep it happy during the night. And that begins right in the morning. So breakfast should be your heaviest meal of the day and dinner the lightest.

Digesting food takes energy. If you eat a heavy meal late in the day, your body will have to work hard to digest it while you're trying to sleep. So try not to go to bed hungry, but avoid heavy meals before bedtime.

Also Read: Working Folks, Too Tired to Cook? These Dinner Ideas Are for You

Eat Some Turkey for Dinner

Lean meats like chicken and turkey are relatively low in calories.

You know about tryptophan — the sleep-inducing amino acid, right! It is found in abundance in turkey. Tryptophan is known to increase the feel-good brain chemical, serotonin, which in turn is converted into sleepy-time hormone melatonin.

Also Read: FIT WebQoof: Can Eating Chicken Cause Cancer?

Eat Some Banana in the Evening

Bananas keep you fueled.

Bananas work on two levels. First, they are a form of carbs, so they induce sleep. Plus, they contain the natural muscle-relaxants magnesium and potassium which again helps.

Also Read: From Banana to Watermelon: Foods To Control High Blood Pressure

Score Some elatonin

Corns are loaded with soluble and insoluble fibre.

Melatonin is a hormone that relaxes you and puts you to sleep. Foods naturally rich in melatonin are:

1. Fruits and vegetables - Corn, asparagus, tomatoes, pomegranates, olives, grapes, broccoli, cucumber

2. Grains - Rice, barley, and rolled oats

3. Nuts and Seeds - Walnuts, peanuts, sunflower seeds, mustard seeds, flaxseed

Also Read: Irregular Sleeping Pattern May Increase the Risk of Lung Fibrosis

Have a Serotonin Boosting Bed-Time Snack

Haldi doodh in the night is a good idea.

Go for a serotonin-producing snack. Our body needs tryptophan to make serotonin, the neurotransmitter that calms and makes us sleepy. But the trick is to combine foods that have some tryptophan with ample carbohydrates. How does this help?

For insomnia-busting tryptophan to work, it has to reach the brain. All amino acids compete for transport to the brain. When we add carbs in the picture, they lead to the release of insulin, which takes the competing amino acids and incorporates them into muscle…but leaves tryptophan alone. Then it can make its way to the brain, to be converted to serotonin, and cause sleepiness. Complicated? Just choose from these:

1. Yogurt topped with 2 tablespoons low-fat granola cereal

2. A glass of milk with some haldi and pepper paired with a date or anjeer

3. Sliced apple with 1-2 teaspoons natural peanut butter are good choices

Also Read: From Amla to Turmeric: Seven Indian Superfoods To Keep You Healthy

Catch the sleep robbers

Cut out caffeine after 2:00 p.m.

Stimulants can stay in the body as long as 14 hours and increase the number of times you awaken at night, decreasing your total amount of sleep time.

Cut out caffeine after 2:00 p.m. Although coffee is the most obvious source of caffeine, don't forget that there's also caffeine in colas, chocolate, tea, and some medications.

Alcohol is a depressant and may help you fall asleep, but the subsequent metabolism that clears it from your body when you are sleeping causes a withdrawal syndrome. This withdrawal causes awakenings and is often associated with nightmares and sweats. If you have insomnia, omit alcohol for a few weeks to help resolve your sleep issues.

(Kavita is a nutritionist, weight management consultant and health writer based in Delhi. She is the author of Don’t Diet! 50 Habits of Thin People (Jaico) and Ultimate Grandmother Hacks: 50 Kickass Traditional Habits for a Fitter You (Rupa).)

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