The Best Diet for a Good Night’s Sleep:
✅ Nuts and seeds — Walnuts are high in melatonin and can increase your body’s melatonin levels. Other nuts and seeds which are high in tryptophan (the precursor to melatonin) include pistachios, almonds, pumpkin seeds, and sesame seeds.
✅ Beans and legumes — These are natural sources of melatonin as well as tryptophan.
✅ Fruits — Bananas are rich in tryptophan and cherries are high in melatonin. Cherries are also known to significantly reduce inflammation and oxidative stress which help to improve sleep patterns. Kiwi may improve sleep onset, duration, and quality among adults with sleep problems.
✅ Dark leafy green vegetables — These are rich in lutein and zeaxanthin- carotenoids that are natural blue light filters. They’re also packed with micronutrients such as tryptophan, potassium, magnesium, and calcium which help to promote good sleep.
✅ Magnesium-rich foods — These include whole grains, avocadoes, soybeans, bananas, nuts, and seeds. Magnesium binds to GABA receptors and works as a natural muscle relaxant, promoting good sleep.
✅ Protein — Can help prevent hypoglycemia at night by balancing your blood sugar levels and preventing you from waking up throughout the night.
✅ Tea — Can reduce inflammation and anxiety and act as natural sedatives (e.g. chamomile, peppermint, lavender, lemon balm, valerian, and passionflower).
✅ Plant-based milk — When warmed up, this may be soothing at night-time and promote sleep onset. Soy or almond milk may be especially useful as they are a good source of tryptophan.
✅ Water — Prevents you from becoming dehydrated and promotes restful sleep. Don’t drink too much right before bed as you’ll be getting up during the night to go to the toilet!
✅ Beans and legumes — These are natural sources of melatonin as well as tryptophan.
✅ Fruits — Bananas are rich in tryptophan and cherries are high in melatonin. Cherries are also known to significantly reduce inflammation and oxidative stress which help to improve sleep patterns. Kiwi may improve sleep onset, duration, and quality among adults with sleep problems.
✅ Dark leafy green vegetables — These are rich in lutein and zeaxanthin- carotenoids that are natural blue light filters. They’re also packed with micronutrients such as tryptophan, potassium, magnesium, and calcium which help to promote good sleep.
✅ Magnesium-rich foods — These include whole grains, avocadoes, soybeans, bananas, nuts, and seeds. Magnesium binds to GABA receptors and works as a natural muscle relaxant, promoting good sleep.
✅ Protein — Can help prevent hypoglycemia at night by balancing your blood sugar levels and preventing you from waking up throughout the night.
✅ Tea — Can reduce inflammation and anxiety and act as natural sedatives (e.g. chamomile, peppermint, lavender, lemon balm, valerian, and passionflower).
✅ Plant-based milk — When warmed up, this may be soothing at night-time and promote sleep onset. Soy or almond milk may be especially useful as they are a good source of tryptophan.
✅ Water — Prevents you from becoming dehydrated and promotes restful sleep. Don’t drink too much right before bed as you’ll be getting up during the night to go to the toilet!
What can you do today to get these benefits of sleep?
❌ Caffeine and sugar — Especially if consumed later in the day, as these can keep you awake at night and make it
difficult to fall asleep in the first place.
difficult to fall asleep in the first place.❌ Alcohol — While alcohol in small amounts may help you get to sleep, research has shown that a high alcohol intake results in increased sleep disruption, lower quality of sleep, and shorter sleep duration.
❌ Spicy and acidic foods — For some people, spicy foods like citrus and tomatoes can cause indigestion and reflux, making it difficult to get comfortable.
❌ Foods low in fiber and high in saturated fats — This includes meat and dairy products as they can make it difficult for you to fall asleep.
❌ Shift work and jet lag — Changing our circadian rhythm affect how we sleep and can have a dramatic impact on our health both in the short-term and long-term.
❌ Stress — The more cortisol and adrenaline your body produces during the day, the more likely your circadian rhythm will become dysregulated.
❌ Spicy and acidic foods — For some people, spicy foods like citrus and tomatoes can cause indigestion and reflux, making it difficult to get comfortable.
❌ Foods low in fiber and high in saturated fats — This includes meat and dairy products as they can make it difficult for you to fall asleep.
❌ Shift work and jet lag — Changing our circadian rhythm affect how we sleep and can have a dramatic impact on our health both in the short-term and long-term.
❌ Stress — The more cortisol and adrenaline your body produces during the day, the more likely your circadian rhythm will become dysregulated.
What can you do today to get these benefits of sleep?
A 2014 study published in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience concluded that getting routine good quality sleep is a significant factor in achieving longer life spans. The researchers found that human longevity is associated with regular sleep patterns, maintenance of slow-wave sleep, and favorable lipid profile which was also impacted by sleep. What can you do today to get these benefits of sleep?
A study done at the University of California showed just how rapidly and comprehensively a brief dose of short sleep can affect your cancer-fighting immune cells. The researchers found that a single night of four hours of sleep in a cohort of healthy young men swept away 70% of the natural killer cells circulating in the immune system, relative to a night of full eight-hour sleep.Do you want to learn how to sleep well?
This is an age of increased awareness regarding our immune systems. We can do one simple thing to give our immune system a boost. GET A GOOD NIGHTS SLEEP!
Poor quality sleep can suppress your immune function, negatively affecting the balance of bacteria in the gut and increasing inflammation. In fact, studies have shown that not enough sleep and poor sleep quality can leave your immune system more susceptible to infectious illnesses like the common cold.
Do you want to learn how to sleep well?
Sleep helps both men and women with their hormones! Sleep also supports the optimal functioning of your reproductive system.
In one study, a group of young males was allowed to sleep for only five hours for one week. The researchers found a significant drop in their testosterone compared to when they were fully rested. In fact, the researchers concluded that the hormonal blunting effect is so large that it effectively "ages" a man by 10 to 15 years!
Inadequate sleep also affects the reproductive system of women. In a report that brought together findings from studies over the past forty years of more than 100,000 employed women, those working irregular night-time hours and had poor-quality sleep had a 33% higher rate of abnormal menstrual cycles than those working regular daytime hours.
In one study, a group of young males was allowed to sleep for only five hours for one week. The researchers found a significant drop in their testosterone compared to when they were fully rested. In fact, the researchers concluded that the hormonal blunting effect is so large that it effectively "ages" a man by 10 to 15 years!
Inadequate sleep also affects the reproductive system of women. In a report that brought together findings from studies over the past forty years of more than 100,000 employed women, those working irregular night-time hours and had poor-quality sleep had a 33% higher rate of abnormal menstrual cycles than those working regular daytime hours.
Do you want to learn how to sleep well?
