Have you ever thought of improving your sleep through your diet?
Well, you’re not alone if you answered in negative. Not many people realize the correlation between what they eat and the quality and duration of their sleep at night.
Whether or not we get high-quality sleep at night is dependent on a lot more factors than just the times that we sleep and wake up. It includes everything from how much time we give for workouts, how much time we spend with screens and the combination of foods and beverages we consume throughout the day.
A healthy diet can, in fact, enhance both sleep quality and sleep duration. And getting high-quality sleep on a regular basis can actually help you eat better. In this post, we are going to discuss the why and how of developing a sleep-friendly diet and its benefits on overall health in the long-run.
Healthy eating habits lead to better sleep
The importance of a good nights’ sleep for health cannot be emphasized enough. Apart from helping reduce the risk of developing certain chronic illnesses, a well-balanced and healthy diet keeps your brain and digestion in proper shape to help you sleep better at night.
Research also suggests that a sleep-deprived individual is more likely to consume foods high in unhealthy fat, calories, and sugar. If you consciously work on avoiding sleep deprivation, your appetite-regulating hormones remain in balance, thus reducing the cravings for high-fat, high-sugar foods.
How to create a sleep-friendly diet
Developing good eating habits and a sleep-inducing diet requires detailed planning and some effort on your part.
Here are some of the essential aspects you need to consider while developing a diet plan that helps you sleep better at night.
- A sleep-friendly diet needs to be varied and should include plenty of fruits and vegetables, along with lean proteins, whole grains, and dairy products.
- Managing portion size is an important element of creating a diet healthy for sleep.
- To let you enjoy a good night’s sleep, your diet should limit the amount of high-sugar and heavily processed foods.
- It should include a lot of nutrients which are found in a range of healthy foods to give you benefits of better sleep.
- Tryptophan rich foods are highly beneficial for sleep. Tryptophan is essentially an amino acid that helps produce the sleep-friendly neurotransmitter serotonin. It works in tandem with calcium to help the production of the melatonin- an essential hormone needed to sleep. Some of the examples of Tryptophan-rich food include soy products, bananas, meats, dark greens, fish, and nuts.
Best Food To Help You Better At Night
Here is the list of the best food for sleep which can help you at night-
- Complex carbohydrates
Switching to complex carbohydrates such as cereals, whole-grain bread, brown rice, pasta, crackers and brown rice instead of simple carbohydrates (bread, cakes, pastries and sugary foods) is an excellent way to maintain serotonin levels and sleep better at night.
- Healthy fats
Including unsaturated fats in your diet will not only boost your heart health but also help to improve serotonin levels. Some of the examples of such heart-healthy fats include peanut butter, almonds, cashews and pistachios. It is recommended to avoid foods with saturated and trans fats as they reduce the serotonin levels. Some of the examples of such saturated and trans fat food items include potato chips, french fries, or other high-fat snacks.
- Walnuts
Eating walnuts can improve sleep quality as they are one of the best food sources of melatonin- the sleep-regulating hormone. The fatty acid component of walnuts also contributes to better sleep. They offer ALA, an omega-3 fatty acid that’s quickly converted to DHA in the body. DHA is known to increase the production of serotonin, a sleep-enhancing brain chemical. Walnuts are also abundant in many nutrients, including magnesium, copper, phosphorus and manganese. Additionally, they are a great source of healthy fats, including linoleic acid and omega-3 fatty acids.
- Lean proteins
Lean proteins are high in the amino acid tryptophan, which tends to increase serotonin levels. Among the examples of such lean proteins include chicken, low-fat cheese, chicken, and turkey. However, it is best to avoid deep-fried fish, chicken wings or high-fat cheeses as they are hard to digest and can keep you awake for longer.
- Fruits
There are certain fruits that contain melatonin and can help you fall asleep faster. Some of the examples of these include bananas, oranges, pineapples, and whole tart cherries as they contain a high amount of melatonin. Among other fruits and vegetables that are rich in antioxidants include prunes, berries, raisins, and plums. These fruits help to counteract the oxidative stress caused by various sleep disorders and help you sleep better at night.
- Fresh herbs
Consuming a variety of fresh herbs such as basil and sage can have a calming effect on the body due to the presence of chemicals that help to reduce tension and promote sleep. Replacing store-bought sauces with homemade ones can be a great way to add a daily dose of herbs in your diet. Some of the exceptions here are red pepper or black pepper as consuming them at night can have a stimulative effect.
- Soothing beverages
While beverages such as caffeine, aerated drinks etc. are known to delay sleep, having a good soothing beverage before bedtime such as a cup of warm milk or chamomile/peppermint based herbal tea can be great to stimulate a good nights’ sleep.
Snacks which can induce sleep
Among some of the sleep-inducing snacks include-
- Low-fat cottage cheese with whole-grain pita chips
- Apple with mozzarella string cheese
- Banana with low-fat yoghurt
- Smear peanut butter on whole-grain crackers
Other important tips for developing a sleep-friendly diet
- Avoid spicy or fatty foods close to bedtime
Don’t let the midnight craving for a bag of nachos with hot sauce take over you before you sleep. Heavy food items like these that are also spicy or fatty take much longer to digest and indigestion before bedtime makes it super hard for the body to relax and go to sleep easily.
2. Be mindful about your caffeine intake
It is a known fact that caffeine makes us feel awake by blocking the production of the brain chemicals responsible for signalling the body to sleep. Which is why it is recommended to watch your caffeine intake, especially in the hours before bed.
3. Snack wisely before you sleep
Going to bed either with a stuffed stomach or a growling one can play havoc for your sleep. It is, therefore, important to choose your bedtime snack wisely. Some of the great ones are-
- Bananas as they contain serotonin
- Turkey as it contains tryptophan
- Berries as they contain melatonin
These all are the building blocks for the chemicals needed by our brain to make us sleep faster and better.
4. Cut down on sugar
Limiting your sugar intake, especially the added sugars aren’t great for the overall health in the long run. As per National Sleep Foundation, watching the sweet intake also helps you sleep better as too much sugar in your diet can have a direct effect on blood sugar levels, which directly influence the energy levels throughout the day. Such sudden energy surges and dips make us reach for extra caffeine at odd hours, or eat other unhealthy foods, all of which can directly affect sleep.
5. Drink plenty of water
If the body doesn’t get enough water, it leads to irritability, fatigue and trouble in concentrating, all of which can disrupt sleep.
Further, lack of enough water in the body also dries out the mouth and nasal passages, which can increase the instances of snoring, leg cramps etc. making us wake up too often during the night.
To Conclude
Eating for better sleep means more than just avoiding a high amount of caffeine and heavy, heartburn-inducing foods at night. Developing a healthy and sleep-friendly diet helps the body absorb proper nutrients and provides the brain with the appropriate chemical environment to produce the neurotransmitters needed to maintain adequate sleep.
For a best night’s sleep, one of the easiest ways is to strive for a balanced, sleep-friendly diet that emphasizes vegetables, fresh fruits, whole grains, and low-fat proteins rich in vitamin B (meat, eggs, fish, poultry, and dairy) as they help to regulate the level of melatonin, a hormone that regulates your sleep cycles.
