Your diet plays and when you eat it plays an important role in the quality of your sleep. Eating dinner early will ensure that you aren't kept awake by your body digesting your evening meal. You may want a bedtime snack about an hour before sleep to avoid nighttime hypoglycemia. Spicy foods, stimulants, high-fat meals and overeating may contribute to a poor night's sleep. Foods that contain trytophan may help you sleep; tryptophan is a precursor to serotonin and melatonin -- neurotransmitters that help you relax.
Milk
Dairy products such as milk, ice cream, yogurt and cheese contain both tryptophan and calcium; the calcium is used by your body to help convert tryptophan to melatonin. A glass of warm milk before bed may not be just another old wives tale. The Sleep Aid Center suggests that warm milk is a psychological throwback to infancy, when a warm bottle was a signal to relax and feel safe and secure.
Turkey Sandwich
Turkey is a rich source of the amino acid tryptophan, and adding a simple carbohydrate, such as a slice of bread, helps trytophan get to your brain. All amino acids compete to get to your brain. Eating simple carbohydrates causes your body to release insulin, which takes every amino acid out of your bloodstream to incorporate them into muscles -- except for tryptophan. The tryptophan is able to get to your brain and make you sleepy.
Oatmeal
High in melatonin, oatmeal is warm and comforting, which will help you relax and make you sleepy. Adding honey or maple syrup will add more simple carbohydrates, increasing serotonin.
Bananas
Bananas are high in melatonin and also contain magnesium, which is a natural muscle relaxer. Almonds are another food high in magnesium; almond butter on banana slices are a good bedtime snack.
Popcorn
Popcorn may help to boost your serotonin levels, but to get a good night's sleep do not add butter or oil. Fats slow down digestion, which may disrupt your sleep cycle.
Sesame Seeds
Ounce for ounce, sesame seeds contain the same amount of tryptophan as turkey, but with less fat and protein so they may help you sleep even better than the traditional Thanksgiving meal
Wine
One glass of wine may help you sleep, but more than a single glass could have the opposite effect. Both red and white wine contain melatonin, but too much alcohol may delay the start of and shorten REM sleep.
Figs
Figs contain tryptophan and enough simple sugars to cause insulin to clear the bloodstream of other amino acids.
Lettuce
Holistic Online reports that lettuce contains an "opium-related substance combined with traces of the anticramping agent hyoscyarnin" so they can promote healthy sleep.
Red Bell Peppers
Red bell peppers are high in vitamin C, which reduces the stress hormone cortisol in your body. Cortisol may cause weight gain and cause trouble falling asleep. Eating foods that negate the effects of cortisol may lead to a better night's sleep.
References
- Ask Dr. Sears: Foods For Sleep
- Sleep Aid Center: 10 Power Foods to Help You Sleep Better
- MSNBC.com: Can't Sleep? Change Your Diet
- Promote Health & Wellness.com: Need Help Falling Asleep? -- 16 Foods to Help You Sleep Better
- The Washington Post: More Foods Hinder Than Help Sleep
- Holistic Online: Sleep: Food and Diet
