While you may enjoy sleeping, getting to sleep or staying asleep may seem the biggest challenges to your night. Between worries over the upcoming day to lingering stress from a hectic workplace, a variety of factors can keep you from going to sleep at night. While foods, such as yogurt with granola cereal, may not serve as the ultimate cure-all for your sleep difficulties, they can activate neurotransmitters in the brain that signal that it's time to go to sleep.
Significance
A lack of sleep can cause significant health problems. According to the National Sleep Foundation, most adults have a basic need to get between seven and eight hours of sleep each night. Failing to get the correct amount of sleep is linked with impaired memory, decreased productivity, increased risk of motor vehicle accidents and a higher chance of being or becoming obese. For those who are having difficulty sleeping, simple steps such as consuming the right combination of foods can make the difference in sleep improvement.
Function
Yogurt with granola cereal serves as a good option to help you get to sleep for a number of reasons. Granola cereal contains carbohydrates that are linked with raising serotonin, according to ABC News. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that is responsible for mood and sleep. When serotonin levels are are high, this makes a person feel drowsy. The dairy products in the yogurt contain enzymes that allow the body to convert tryptophan, a chemical that further increases the amount of serotonin in the body.
Considerations
When using a snack to help you sleep better, it's important not to eat too much food, according to Rotary International's helpguide.org. Keep your granola and yogurt snack to the proper serving size--1/2 cup to a cup of cereal and roughly 5 to 8 oz. of yogurt. Eating a large amount can cause your stomach to work harder to digest, which may reverse the positive effects on the brain.
What to Avoid
Not all foods can help a person sleep better at night. You should avoid certain foods when going to bed, such as those containing caffeine, spicy foods, acidic foods or foods that are very high in fat, according to helpguide.org. These foods are all connected with stimulating the brain instead of slowing it down.
Prevention/Solution
The next time you cannot sleep, try pairing a low-fat yogurt with a low-sugar granola sprinkled on top, according to Mayo Clinic sleep specialist Timothy Morgenthaler, M.D. Other similar pairings that are beneficial include a glass of warm milk and a half of a peanut butter sandwich or a banana paired with a cup of chamomile tea, according to helpguide.org.
