Foods to Avoid for Better Sleep Through Nutrition
Simply put, our diet quality and lifestyle influences our sleep quality. What you eat for dinner could affect your tiredness and ability to fall asleep. Eating less fibre, more saturated fat and more sugar is associated with a lighter, disrupted sleep. Avoiding white bread, sugar, chocolate and red meat in the evening will encourage restful sleep.
Timing Your Meals for Better Sleep Through Nutrition
Aim to finish your light evening meal at least two hours before going to bed so your body enough time to properly digest it. If you’re hungry, a small bedtime snack about an hour before bed can be beneficial to getting better sleep; you just need to keep the snack healthy, small and lightweight. Consider a snack rich in protein and complex carbohydrates like a cup of Greek yogurt topped with fruit and nuts. The protein helps to keep you satisfied throughout the night and the complex carbs help to stabilize your blood sugar.
What 6 Sleep-Promoting Foods Should We Eat Before Bed?
1.Oats
While oats are widely regarded as a brilliant breakfast food, they also foster great sleep as they are a slow-releasing carbohydrate. Oats slowly provide your cells with energy throughout the night, and can stop your blood sugar from falling too low and waking you up. The carbohydrates in oats can also trigger the brain to make melatonin, the hormone that regulates your sleep-wake cycle.
2.Pumpkin seeds
Another sleep-inducing food is pumpkin seeds, which are rich in magnesium, a mineral which helps to calm and relax the muscles and encourage sleep. Add them to your nighttime oats as a bedtime treat.
3.Kumara or Sweet potato
Similarly to oats, sweet potatoes stimulate melatonin production and gradually energise your body throughout the course of the night, increasing the duration of your sleep. Easily incorporate them into your diet by replacing white potatoes, pasta or rice with the sweet alternative.
4.Cherry Juice
Cherries have been found to contain melatonin, making them a good food to relieve insomnia and allowing you to fall sleep naturally.
5.Bananas
Bananas are an excellent source of magnesium and potassium, which help relax overstressed muscles; therefore, they make an ideal go-to snack before bed. Additionally, they contain the all-important tryptophan, which stimulates the production of key brain-calming hormones. You can eat them whole or blend them into a smoothie.
If troublesome sleep persists, you may want to seek help from a sleep specialist. Specifically, look for one that offers a multi-specialty approach.
At Auckland Sleep, we are a collective of experts who specialise in eight different domains of sleep health. Our team of eight different specialities under one roof provides an unparalleled multi-faceted approach, which helps you achieve better sleep health, simply.
Get in touch with our friendly team at our sleep clinic Auckland to find out how they can help you achieve better sleep health.
