Sleep Nutrition

This week I have been working on sleep with a few clients. Sleep can be the most underrated lifestyle, health habit. Without good sleep you cannot function well. You make poor choices leading to poor diet, less movement and a general feeling of not being at your best. Phones tend to win the battle when deciding on a good sleep or not. Evidence is mixed whether the blue light does interfere with the production of our sleep hormone, melatonin, but even if it is not proven the stimulation of a text message, email or a social media post will be enough to delay or disturb sleep. People still find it hard to switch them off though.

Good quality sleep is important for all aspects of health. Research suggests it poor sleep or lack of may increase your risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity.

Melatonin is our sleep hormone. We produce more of it in darkness and production stops in daylight.  Sometimes it can be become out of balance, and this may affect sleep.

Try to make sure you expose yourself to natural daylight. A light box or alarm clock may come in handy but also a brisk afternoon walk will make sure you have your daily daylight exposure.  According to an academic article on sunlight and the benefits to health, to have optimal nocturnal melatonin (sleep hormone) exposing you to light during the day is helpful.

• Switch off phones etc. 1-2 hours before bed.

• Same goes for TV, if you do watch it before bed, watch something calming, not scary movies or something that really makes you think.

• Create a good sleeping environment, Dark room, bath or relaxation before bed, try to eat 2-3 hours before retiring. Wind down and prepare your body for sleep.

Tryptophan is the amino acid that makes serotonin, the happy, good mood chemical in the brain. Serotonin is converted into melatonin – the sleep hormone. Eat foods rich in protein to make sure you have enough tryptophan to help with sleep. Good sources of tryptophan are beef, beans, dairy, fish, legumes, lentil, oats, nuts and seeds. Banana also contains tryptophan as does new potatoes. I was taught in college if someone was really struggling to sleep before bed advise them to eat 1 new potato, worth a try.

Cherries also contain melatonin and may be useful as a light snack or a small dessert served with plain natural yoghurt at night.

Magnesium is a calming and relaxation mineral. Epsom Salt baths are recommended. They contain magnesium, which is absorbed through the skin. If you don’t have a bath, you can but magnesium sprays. Good sources of magnesium are green leafy vegetables such as steamed broccoli.

The most important thing about sleep is not to try and address what might be causing the problem. If it is a racing mind, write tasks down before bed, that way you have dealt with it. Keep a diary on food and activities – is there a correlation between them and sleep.

Other tips I have come across:

It is helpful to wake up and go to sleep at the same time every day.

A study showed that two kiwis before bed could mean a better sleep!

Hot milk is not just an old wives’ tale – it is a good source of tryptophan and it was found that cows milked at night had higher levels of melatonin. A small study on elderly patients showed that a bacteria (Lactobacillus Helveticas) found in kefir may also support sleep.