Nowadays, a goodnight sleep is increasingly becoming less of a necessity and more of a luxury, even though not getting enough sleep can cause serious physical illnesses. Unfortunately, BBC’s Good Food reports that only 1 out of 10 individuals are privileged enough to get a good sleep.
It has long been know that food can affect your sleeping pattern, and now Health Magazine has come up with a helpful list of the right food to eat before bedtime to get that the good night sleep you desperately need and deserve.
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Cherries
Generally speaking, fruits are good for in so many ways, but cherries in particular are what you should be gobbling down if you want a good sleep.
Keri Gans, a registered dieticians in New York City and author of “The Small Change Diet,” believes cherries are one for the best foods to eat just before going to sleep because they are one of the few food items rich in melatonin, a chemical that aids in controlling the individual’s body clock.
In fact, a small study on cherries found that drinking tart cherry juices improves the sleep quality and duration of adults suffering from chronic insomnia.
Milk
Doctors have long recommended milk for those having problems sleeping, and for good reason. Milk contains the amino acid tryptophan, which helps produce sleep-inducing brain chemicals like serotonin and melatonin (a sleep-inducing hormone triggered by darkness).
In fact, a glass of milk alone is unlikely to induce sleep; however, research suggests that pairing it with a protein or carbohydrate-rich food increases its efficacy. I personally have a bowl of milk and low-sugar cereal every night before bedtime, and it seems to do the trick.
Jasmine Rice
Thanks to its high glycemic index (GI), Jasmine rice is a surprisingly good sleeping aid. It’s slow to digest and gradually releases glucose into the blood stream.
According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, those who eat a meal that include Jasmine Rice just hours before bedtime fell asleep significantly faster than those who eat lower-GI long-grain rice.
Researchers speculate that the greater amounts of insulin triggered by the high-GI meals increased the ratio of sleep-inducing tryptophan relative to other amino acids in the blood, allowing proportionately more to get into the brain.
Whole Grains
Magnesium and calcium deficiency have been linked to poor sleep, so eating food rich in the minerals can help you get a goodnight rest.
Bulgur, barley and other whole grains are especially rich in magnesium.
Banana
Potassium are a source of Vitamin B6, which is needed to make melatonin. Bananas are a great source potassium, as well as magnesium. They’re also carbs, which help make you sleepy as well.
You should get into the habit of eating more fruits, period.
Sweet Potato
Not only are Sweet potatoes good for dieting and your blood sugar level, they are also a sleeper’s dream. They contain promoting complex carbohydrates and that all-important muscle-relaxant potassium.
Regular potatoes (baked with the skin on), lima beans, and papaya are also good sources of potassium should Sweet potatoes prove too expensive to obtain.
Valerian Tea
Studies have shown that the valerian plant can speed the onset of sleep and improve sleep quality and are a natural remedy for melatonin pills.
While some people claim that valerian tea, helps make you drowsy, it may actually be the relaxing ritual of calmly drinking tea rather than any property of the tea itself that makes you slip into sleep.
