How Can Food Change Your Sleep?

You may not realize that your food could be the cause of all your sleepless nights, read below of the foods to avoid and the foods that can help you more than counting sheep.

What foods can help you sleep better?

Everybody knows their grandmothers recipe; a cup of warm milk with honey. The milk contains tryptophan, which is a neurotransmitter for Serotonin (which gives you feelings of happiness and wellbeing). Honey is well known for its soothing and anti-inflammatory effects. Together they contribute to produce a sleep inducing healthy & delicious drink to send you to sleep.

 

 

Cashew, bananas and walnuts are a good alternative to Chips, peanuts and chocolate, because they (like milk) contain the substance tryptophan which can be transformed into melatonin a know sleep aid.

 

 

Don’t eat something heavy in the evening. Rice, potatoes and noodles are easily to digest. Eat less fat, so switch pork steak for low-fat fish with vegetables, soups or stews. Red meats or huge amounts of protein will sit in your stomach digesting and make it difficult to get to sleep.

 

Don’t eat something before you go to bed. You must avoid midnight-snacks. If you want to drink something sweet in the evening, drink a glass of raspberry or sour cherry juice. It increases Melatonin-levels which (as previously mentioned) help you drift off.

 

Coffee, Coke, green and black tea keep you awake, don’t drink them after 4 pm, this is due to their high caffeine content. Alcohol makes you tired, but it disturbs the deep sleep (REM) and it shortens the sleep time, making it more likely that you wake up in the second half of the night and then it’s hard to fall asleep again.

 

Oranges and pineapples contain a lot of fruit acid and they stimulate the circulation.  So when you want more energy, eat more of them, but not before sleep time!

 

Albuminous and fatty meals propel the body and lead to unrest. Don’t eat uncooked cauliflower, broccoli or carrots, which although are healthy have a long digestion time and so can disrupt sleep. You should also be careful with how strong your food is seasoned, because spicy meals can worsen symptoms of acid reflux.