Do you know food and drinks can affect your sleep quality? With more than 35% of American adults suffering from insomnia, there is a strong desire to understand what types of foods help sleep.
Numerous strategies you can use to promote good sleep, as making changes to your diet. While both diet and sleep are complex, and there is no single food that can be guaranteed to provide better sleep.
How does food impact sleep?
As we know, different types of foods may have various nutrient profiles, and certain foods can help better sleep. Such as red grapes have high levels of melatonin while other foods have virtually none.
Your daily food choice can not only affect energy and sleepiness, but also your weight, blood sugar levels, and other health elements. If you decide to make huge changes to your diet, you’d better consult a doctor. However, diet is multifaceted and cumulative, affected by when what, and how much we eat throughout a day and over weeks, so it is hard to generalize a perfect diet for everyone.
What foods help you fall asleep?
Here are 8 foods that recommended to help for sleep for you:
1. Nuts
Nuts contain melatonin and essential minerals which play a vital role in bodily processes. They are often found to solve insomnia with the combination of melatonin, magnesium, and zinc.
2. Fatty fish
Fatty fish may help by providing a healthy dose of vitamin-D and omega-3 fatty acids, which can help your body’s serotonin regulation. It is found that people having fatty fish can gain better overall sleep and daytime functioning.
3. Kiwi
Kiwi possesses vitamins and minerals which can help with sleep, and also its antioxidant properties can address high concentration of serotonin. Try to have one or two kiwis an hour before bedtime.
4. Chamomile tea
Having chamomile tea can provide numerous benefits to you. It has antioxidants that can reduce inflammation to chronic diseases and reduce insomnia.
5. Rice
The impact of carbohydrates is influenced by what is consumed with them. Carbohydrate is found to improve sleep to a certain level, while at the same time sugary beverages and sweets have been tied to worse sleep. So, try to combine rice and a certain amount of protein and amino acid before bed, it may make it easier to fall asleep.
6. Tart cherry juice
Tart cherry juice has a high melatonin concentration which helps regulate circadian rhythm and promote healthy sleep.
7. Malted milk
Milk itself contains melatonin which is a natural source of the sleep-producing hormone. Malted milk also perceives B and D vitamins to reduce sleep interruptions.
8. Turkey
Turkey has high protein which can help to keep strong muscles and regulate your appetite. There is evidence that having a moderate amount of protein can lead to less waking up throughout the night.
5 worst foods for sleep
Certain foods are not promoted to have before bed:
- Ice cream: most ice cream has high sugar which can promote insulin levels and making it difficult to fall asleep.
- Wine: a late-night wine can help you relax but also prevent your body from fully indulging in its REM cycle (link), which is always dreaming occurs.
- Coffee: as we know caffeine can stimulate the central nervous system, so don’t try coffee before bed or it will be hard to get to sleep.
- Chocolate: it contains caffeine as well and can increase arousal and disrupt the sleep process.
- Spicy food: spicy food can boost your metabolism to a certain level but increase your body’s core temperature as well, resulting in feeling more awake than asleep.
Certain food may help with sleep in general, but they are less likely to be effective if you have poor hygiene. Remember to check your sleep environment and sounds and try to incorporate foods into the overall plan to get more replenishing rest.
If you have trouble sleeping, try ShutEye, an all-in-one sleep app. ShutEye brings a wide variety of tools to help you fall asleep and understand your sleep cycles from a scientific perspective.
So stop tossing and turning all night, and starting falling asleep in a healthy and natural way. Know about 8 Relaxing sounds to help you sleep and relieve stress.
