Foods To Aid Sleep

What To Eat To Get A Good Night's Sleep

It is well known that sleep can affect our productivity, decision making capability and brain functioning. People with sleep disorders tend to have dry hair, suffer hair fall, sensitive digestions, are usually restless, prone to smoking and have DRY SKIN too. In summary, a good night's sleep is essential to good health and well-being.

It has now been proved that some foods have the power to affect our sleep, both positively and negatively. Some foods can increase our nervous simulation and prevent us from sleeping. Drinking caffeinated beverages or xanthine in tea before bed time are egamples of such foods. Also fizzy drinks and cigarettes have the same effect. Basically, these foods stimualte neurochemicals that perk up the brain.

Other major factor responsible for a disturbed sleep is eating a heavy dinner before bedtime. It results in snoring, heavy breathing and reflux esophagitis. Lighter meals are more likely to give you a good night's sleep.

Avoid eating junk food and highly refined food at night because fibre-rich food increases serotonin availability, but processed food over stimulates insulin, which leads to disturbed sleep.

The most common myth is the belief that alcohol helps promote sleep. Although alcohol may initially act as a sedative, it interupts normal sleep patterns in the long run.

There are certain foods which improve our sleep. These foods are rich in tryptophan. Tryptophan is the amino acid that the body uses to make serotonin, the neurotransmitter that slows down nerve traffic and lulls us into restful sleep. Eating foods rich in tryptophan makes this calming amino acid more available to brain.


Tryptophan-rich foods to aid sleep include:

. Milk
. Cheese
. Curd
. Potato
. Wheat
. Seafood
. Beans
. Sesame seeds
. Oatmeal
. Apricots
. Bananas

Bed time snacks to aid sleep include:

. Whole grain cereal with milk
. Warm milk
. Seasame seeds
. Oatmeal or rasin cookies
. Peanut butter

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