Are restless nights and groggy mornings becoming an all-too-familiar routine? If you find yourself tossing and turning, struggling to catch those elusive Z’s, it might be time to look to your plate for a solution. Sleep plays a crucial role in our overall well-being, and what you eat can significantly impact the quality of your slumber. In this article, we unveil the top 10 foods proven to help you sleep better. Discover how these delicious and nutritious options can help you bid farewell to sleepless nights and embrace a rejuvenating, restorative sleep pattern.
Getting a good night’s sleep is essential for overall health and well-being. Here are five main health benefits of quality sleep:
- Improved Cognitive Function: Adequate sleep is crucial for cognitive functions such as memory, problem-solving, and concentration. It enhances your ability to learn, make decisions, and think clearly.
- Enhanced Mood and Emotional Well-Being: Quality sleep is closely linked to emotional stability and mental health. It helps regulate mood and reduces the risk of mood disorders like depression and anxiety.
- Physical Health and Immune System Support: A good night’s sleep supports a healthy immune system, making your body better equipped to fight off infections. It also plays a vital role in regulating hormones, which are essential for overall physical health.
- Weight Management: Sleep is involved in the regulation of hunger hormones like ghrelin and leptin. Poor sleep can disrupt this balance and lead to increased appetite and weight gain. Getting enough sleep can aid in weight management and reduce the risk of obesity.
- Heart Health: Quality sleep is associated with a lower risk of heart diseases, including hypertension (high blood pressure), stroke, and heart attacks. It helps maintain healthy blood pressure and reduces stress on the cardiovascular system.
These benefits underscore the importance of prioritizing and maintaining a regular sleep schedule to ensure you get the restorative rest your body and mind need for optimal functioning.
Foods Proven To Help You Sleep Better
Fish
Research from the New York Academy of Sciences has found that fish increases the levels of vitamin B6 in the body. Vitamin B6 is necessary for producing melatonin, which is responsible for inducing sleep. Ideally, melatonin levels rise in the dark. If you are hoping to leverage this, then eat healthy fish like salmon, tuna, and halibut, as they are rich in this vitamin.
Jasmine Rice
People from Asia have been found to struggle less with insomnia. The reason for this lies in their diet. Though the exact mechanism for this is as yet unknown, including jasmine rice in your dinner, along with vegetables and some spices, will help you sleep better.
Tart Cherry Juice
Tart cherry juice is rich in melatonin, which is why it’s useful for inducing sleep. So if you suffer from insomnia, try drinking a glass of tart cherry juice twice a day.
Yogurt
One of the causes of insomnia, and other sleeping problems, is a lack of calcium in the body. Eating dairy supplies you with the required amounts of calcium, and thus helps you fall asleep.
Whole Grains
Though a micronutrient, magnesium is found to be deficient in people with insomnia. Whole grains are rich in magnesium; so if you want better sleep, then add whole grains like barley to your diet.
Kale
As already mentioned, calcium helps you get the right amount of sleep. Green leafy vegetables like kale are rich in calcium, and therefore a great option if you’re trying to deal with sleeplessness. Other cruciferous vegetables are also a rich supply of calcium.
Bananas
A favorite among athletes, bananas are rich in potassium. They also provide a generous amount of vitamin B6, which is necessary to prepare melatonin. So eating a couple of bananas after dinner will help you get some much needed shuteye. It has other benefits, such as aiding your digestion.
Chickpeas
Chickpeas contain a lot of vitamin B6, which, as mentioned earlier, is essential to melanin production. Boiled chick peas will help you attain satiety that in turn will help you sleep – since a feeling of hunger is one of the factors that prevent you from sleeping.
Fortified Cereals
Another great source of vitamin B6, fortified cereals are another set of foods that you need to include in your diet if you want to sleep better.
Nuts
Nuts contain tryptophan that regulates the mechanism of synthesis of melatonin. Eating nuts regularly will help you keep this synthesis active. Eat walnuts, almonds, cashew, and pistachios. Try preparing a mix of these nuts, and eat a handful of them before going to sleep.
Diet of course is only one part of combating sleeplessness. There are a number of other changes you need to make, in addition to what you eat. You must try working out for at least 30 minutes a day. Also, avoid staring at computers or smartphones right before going to bed. Write a journal or read a novel before going to sleep. All of these measures, combined with the right diet, will help you get yourself a night of restful sleep in no time.
