As you might know, sleep can affect every aspect of our lives. It allows our body and mind to heal and recharge; it keeps our brain and emotions in check, lowers diseases, reduces stress, and elevates our mood; but sleep can easily be disrupted by many factors like chronic stress, high temperatures, light, noise, the mattress quality, the pillow… Today, we are going to focus on food.
Studies show that sleep deprivation can affect a lot of health conditions, for example:
- Diabetes
- Weight gain and obesity
- Hypertension
- Cardiovascular diseases and many more…
When it comes to diet, there is no ” One Specific Diet” best for sleep. But here are some facts:
- A low protein diet is associated to short sleep. For best results, we should aim for 20% of calories from protein sources.
- Carbohydrates can be good for sleep but it depends on the type of carbs. For example, high fiber intake is associated with better sleep, unlike simple carbs that can lead to restless sleep or insomnia.
- A low-fat diet is associated with non-restorative sleep and sleepiness.
In brief, a diet high in healthy fats, a good amount of protein and low in simple carbs, is associated with improved sleep quality, including an increase in REM sleep.
Clearly, foods themselves will not make us sleep but there are foods with natural properties that help us relax our body. In fact, there are many chemicals, amino acids, enzymes, nutrients and hormones that work together to promote good sleep and regulate the sleep cycle. These include:
- Tryptophan
- Melatonin
- Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)
- Magnesium
- Calcium
- Potassium
- Serotonin
- Histamine
- Acetylcholine
- Folate
- Antioxidants
- Vitamin D
- B vitamins
- Copper
- Zinc …
Here are the best foods that can promote the sleeping hormones (like tryptophan, melatonin…) and may have positive effects on sleep:
- Almonds
- Turkey
- Chamomile Tea
- Kiwi
- Cherry Juice
- Fatty Fish
- Walnuts
- Passionflower Tea
- Dairy products
- Barely Grass powder.
In the other hand, there are many foods linked with restless sleep or even insomnia like:
-
Caffeine: While Caffeine has some short-term benefits, over-consuming it can negatively impact sleep. Studies show that caffeine can take up to 24 hours to clear from our body and can reduce the time and the quality of sleep. For a better and deeper sleep, we should cut-off caffeine 8 hours before bedtime.
-
Alcohol: Regularly drinking alcohol can be very detrimental to sleep. In fact, drinking before bed can make us spend more time in deep sleep and less time in REM stage which is crucial to restore our bodies.
-
Sugar: Studies have shown that sugar can be harmful to sleep in two major ways: First, it stimulates appetite and cravings which can lead to late night snacking. Second, it increases inflammation in the body which leads to an increase in cytokines. Cytokines are linked to trouble in sleep and insomnia.
To sum up, when it comes to a good night sleep, Dr. Michael Breus, the sleep doctor, says: “You should not go to bed on a full stomach, but you should not go hungry either.” Going hungry to bed elevates cortisol, the most powerful hormone for waking you up.
The best is to eat 3 to 4 hours before bedtime and if still feeling hungry, you can have a healthy snack (around 250 calories); this could be a combination of protein to lift tryptophan in our body and complex carbohydrates to create enough Insulin to cause that calming effect. It could be an apple with nut butter, cheese and wholegrain crackers, banana and peanut butter, oatmeal and banana…
Let me know in the comments if this article was helpful,
Wishing you all a good night sleep.
Resources: Dr Michael Breus, healthline.com
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