What To Eat & Drink For A Good Night’s Sleep
For dinner…
· Tuna salad (with lettuce and tomatoes)
Fish such as Tuna, salmon or halibut are high in vitamin B6, which your body
needs to make melatonin and serotonin.
Tomatoes
are one of the best sources of
lycopene, a mineral important for sleep.
Lettuce contains
significant amounts of a substance called lactucarium, which is a natural
opiate.
FACT: This is why extract of wild lettuce is sometimes found in
herbal sleeping tablets.
· Quinoa, kale
& Halibut
Wholegrains like quinoa are rich in magnesium—consuming
too little magnesium may make it harder to stay asleep.
Dairy products are
well-known calcium-rich foods. But green leafy vegetables, such as kale, also boast healthy doses of
calcium, which is believed to help sleep.
· “Sushi bowl”: White rice and salmon
White rice has a high
glycemic index, which will significantly
reduce the time it takes you to fall asleep, according to an Australian study.
Like tuna, salmon is high in vitamin B6.
The perfect bedtime snacks…
· Cheese & crackers
Just
like yoghurt, cheese contains
calcium which can help you sleep.
· Carrots & hummus
Gram for gram, carrots are the most potent sources of alpha carotene, behind
canned pumpkin, which has been proved to help sleep.
Chickpeas in hummus are also a good source of tryptophan.
· Yoghurt with honey, walnuts & almonds
The calcium found in yogurt helps the brain use the
tryptophan found in dairy to manufacture sleep-triggering melatonin.
The natural sugar found in honey slightly raises insulin and
allows tryptophan to enter the brain more easily.
Walnuts are a good
source of tryptophan, a sleep-enhancing amino acid that helps make serotonin
and melatonin, the “body clock” hormone that sets your sleep-wake cycles.
Additionally, walnuts contain their own source of melatonin, which may help you
fall asleep faster.
Almonds are rich in
magnesium, a mineral needed for quality sleep. A study published in the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine found that when the body’s magnesium levels are too low, it
makes it harder to stay asleep.
· A bowl of
porridge (prepared with milk)
A bowl of porridge combines two components which will help you sleep: carbohydrates (from the oats) and calcium
(from the milk).
· Banana &
Kiwi smoothie (Blended with milk)
Bananas contain
Typtophan, potassium, magnesium and healthy carbs so would make an ideal snack for
anyone suffering with sleeplessness.
The high amount of serotonin in kiwis, could significantly
increase sleep duration.
What to drink …
· Cherry juice
Cherries, particularly
tart cherries, naturally boost levels of melatonin, which should help you fall
asleep faster.
· Chamomile tea & honey
Steeping a cup of chamomile tea will help you sleep.
According to researchers, drinking the tea is associated with an increase of
glycine, a chemical that relaxes nerves and muscles and acts like a mild
sedative.