8 Foods To Help You Sleep Better!

Some people have trouble falling asleep. Others can’t stay asleep. And then there are the people who have trouble turning life “off” and tucking into bed at a reasonable hour.

What you eat will have a big influence on the quality of your sleep. You can easily sleep better by making a few changes and being sure to include foods that promote rest.

Almonds 
A handful of these heart-healthy nuts can send you snoozing because they contain both tryptophan and a nice dose of muscle-relaxing magnesium.


Chamomile Tea  
Chamomile is a staple of bedtime tea blends because of its mild sedating effect, which makes it the perfect natural antidote for restless minds and bodies.

Grapes
Finally, the last food that you'll want to consider having before bed to sleep better are grapes. Grapes are the only fruit found to contain the sleep-regulating hormone melatonin, so by adding them regularly to your diet you can help boost the natural sleep-wake cycle in the body. This will then allow you to get to sleep faster each night. Toss some sliced grapes into a small bowl of yogurt for added calcium and you'll have a perfect before-bed snack.

Honey 
Drizzle a little in your warm milk or herb tea. Lots of sugar is stimulating, but a little glucose tells your brain to turn off orexin, a recently discovered neurotransmitter that's linked to alertness.

Jasmine Rice
When healthy sleepers ate carbohydrate-rich suppers of veggies and tomato sauce over rice, they fell asleep significantly faster at bedtime if the meal included high-glycemic-index (GI) jasmine rice rather than lower-GI long-grain rice, in a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. While the authors aren’t sure how it happened, they speculated 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.

Oatmeal
While most people think of oatmeal as a breakfast food, it does work well in the evening due to the fact that the carbohydrates cause a serotonin release in the body. Serotonin is a ”feel good” hormone that decreases stress and puts you in a much calmer state of mind. Oats are a rich source of sleep-inviting melatonin.

Since oatmeal is also a slower digesting source of carbohydrates, you won't have to worry about waking up halfway through the night with crashing blood sugar levels.
Slice up half an apple and add to your oatmeal, along with a bit of cinnamon. Serve with a splash of skim milk if desired.

Warm milk
You might have heard it before and just chalked it up to an old wives' tale, but having a glass of warm milk before bed can actually promote faster sleep. The reason behind this is due to the fact that milk also contains that tryptophan amino acid, and for most people, the warm liquid provides a soothing effect.

Additionally, milk also offers up a good dose of calcium, which works in the brain to help regulate the production of melatonin, which is a substance that's going to naturally control your sleep-wake cycle.

Whole-wheat bread 
A slice of toast with your tea and honey will release insulin, which helps tryptophan get to your brain, where it's converted to serotonin and quietly murmurs "time to sleep."

Note, however, that you should not eat these foods immediately before going to bed, as that can keep you awake due to the increased blood flow to the digestive system; eat them one to two hours before you plan to turn in for the night. This will allow the heaviest part of digestion to take place and also give the sleep-enhancing effects a chance to kick in.

15 comments:

  1. I would prefer a glass of warm milk or chamomile tea before going to bed.

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  2. A warm glass of milk works for me too but I'm taking note of this list once I have a hard time sleeping.

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  3. I really need all these natural food that can help me sleep. Question: how long do I need to wait before sleeping if I eat/drink food? My aunt says to wait about 2 hours. Gasp!

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    1. advisable to take any of this foods 1 to 2 hours before you go to sleep.

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  4. Maybe I should try some of those food that are on that list so that I can sleep longer and fall asleep faster.

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  5. agree with everything!I might banana's as well in the lists!!! That' all the better way to go! good advice to all your readers! xx

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  6. I usually go for milk and cookies to help me relax and fall asleep at night :)

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  7. Warm milk is a regular thing for me at night. Jasmine rice, ay medyo mahal yan dito sa amin. Oatmeal na lang.

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  8. Oatmeal and milk will make me sleep for the better.

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  9. I can say that tea and milk indeed helps in getting the sleep that I wanted. Haven't tried other foods in terms of sleeping but I might soon. Thanks for sharing!

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  10. Saw this jasmine rice at SM, might as well try it and of course milk is really good. :)

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  11. I can't believe that jasmine rice is included in the list. It's surprising 'cause we use jasmine rice at home and I did not realize until now that it helps us sleep better.

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  12. never heard of jasmine rice. im insomniac and what i do is to eat grapes or have my fresh milk.

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  13. Me too, I think I've learned a lot on this one, but I am also having some symptoms of zinc deficiency, which one of these foods is rich in zinc and what is the standard amount of food do I need for my body.

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  14. I have to agree with the power of milk promoting good sleep. Works best on me everytime.

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