Healthy Foods That Can Improve Your Sleep

Sleeping the recommended eight hours per night is essential for your health and well-being. Getting the proper amount of sleep can do a number of positive things for your health, including helping to improve memory, boost the immune system, lower stress, spur creativity, sharpen attention and even contribute to a healthier weight.

Healthy Foods For Better Sleep :

Almonds :
Filled with magnesium, almonds are often suggested as a healthy snack food.  What you might not have known, is that almonds also contain melatonin, which helps the body to regulate the sleep cycle.  Try a handful of almonds as an after dinner snack and you will snoozin’ in no time.

Banana :
If you are already eating bananas on a regular basis then good on ya! If you are not, then you might want to reconsider.  Bananas are filled with potassium and magnesium, two essential vitamins your body needs for muscle relaxation.  Additionally, bananas contain an amino acid tryptophan, which the body later converts into serotonin and melatonin.  Too much scientific information? Simply put Bananas = relaxed muscles and calming hormones.

Cherries :
Being a good source of antioxidants is what cherries are usually known for when it comes to healthy foods; however, did you know these tasty fruits naturally contain high levels of melatonin? Cherries are only in season from November to February so if you don’t want to wait that long, a glass of cherry juice can also boost melatonin levels in the body and naturally induce sleep.

Spinach :
Similar to bananas, Spinach contains heaps of potassium and magnesium.  Additionally, spinach contains calcium which helps the body produce melatonin and regulate the sleep cycle.  And no, you may not substitute calcium supplements to avoid spinach (which you may remember from last week’s post.) Besides, it has already been scientifically proven that Popeye’s diet was extremely healthy.

Fish :
Also a good source of protein, fish can be helpful when it comes to regulating your sleep cycle for two reasons.  Firstly, fish contains a lot of vitamin B6 which is critical for your body to produce melatonin.  Secondly, fish contain plenty of tryptophan which, as mentioned previously, the body converts into hormones that are needed to induce sleep.