Showing posts with label Sleep Better. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sleep Better. Show all posts

Tuesday, 29 October 2013

It is important to eat well to sleep tight, as you can’t eat anything when you’re asleep. Let’s have a look at the best food for a good night’s sleep and the food that will keep you awake. A balance of protein and healthy fats will allow you to keep your blood sugar level and sleep through the night. These foods will help you create calming results for deep sleep.

Best Foods for Sleep Better :

Warm Milk :

Milk has some tryptophan, an amino acid that has a sedative-like effect, and calcium, which helps the brain use tryptophan.

Popcorn :

Popcorn helps create the sleep-inducing neurotransmitter serotonin in our brains; it can be helpful in falling asleep. But skip the butter and oil; air-popped is best.

Almonds :

Almonds contain magnesium, which promotes both sleep and muscle relaxation. They help promote sleep by switching you from your alert adrenaline cycle to your rest-and-digest cycle

Cherries : 

Cherries the yummy fruit contains range of vitamins such as Vitamin C, A, and also contains potassium. A cup of cherry juice, when taken at bed time helps you get better sleep. Cherries also contain natural-source of melatonin that regulates sleep.

Honey :

Add a drizzle of honey to warm milk or herbal tea a few hours before you plan on heading to bed. That little bit of glucose lowers levels of orexin, a neurotransmitter that raises your level of alertness.

Tuesday, 15 October 2013

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.