If you find it hard to fall asleep even after a long tiring day, there are a variety of foods that can help you sleep. These foods come from different food groups but have one common characteristic: they all trigger the production of the sleep-inducing neurotransmitter melatonin in the brain. Not only do these foods help you sleep faster, they also enhance the quality of your sleep so that you wake up feeling well rested and refreshed in the morning.
Without further delay, here are 11 foods and also beverages that can help you get some much-needed shuteye as required.
1. Nuts: Walnuts, Pistachios, and Almonds
Walnuts are known to be rich in an amino acid called tryptophan. Tryptophan triggers the release of both melatonin and serotonin, ensuring that you enjoy deep, uninterrupted slumber all t the night.
Pistachios are rich in vitamin B6, a nutrient that is very useful to the brain when it comes to producing melatonin and serotonin.
Almonds, on the other hand, are a rich source of magnesium. Aside from being vital in the curing of headaches, magnesium deficiency in the body can lead to inconsistent sleep rhythms and ultimately prevent you from sleeping soundly until morning.
Eating a few almonds, walnuts, or pistachios just before bed can significantly shorten the amount of time it will take you to fall asleep and improve the quality of your sleep significantly.
2. Cheese
Drinking warm milk has always been the go-to remedy among the foods that can help you sleep since time immemorial. However, the trend is similar with all dairy products. Nibbling on some cheese and crackers before bed can improve the quality of your sleep and also make you drift off faster. This is because the calcium that is present in dairy products speeds up the assimilation of tryptophan, making it ready for use by the brain. Additionally, calcium helps you stay asleep by regulating muscle movement.
3. Green Vegetables: Lettuce, Kale, Spinach, and Mustard Greens
Here is another reason why salads should always be featured in most of your meals: lettuce can help you fall asleep faster. This is attributed to a chemical component within lettuce called lactucarium. Studies show that lactucarium has sedative properties similar to opium although to a much milder extent.
As for green leafy vegetables like kale, spinach, and mustard greens, the high calcium content guarantees the accelerated assimilation of tryptophan, which in turns helps the brain to produce melatonin, allowing you to fall asleep quicker and more deeply.
4. Cereal, Pretzels, and Corn Chips
As odd as it sounds to have cereal before bed, it can actually help solve your sleeping problems. Research conducted by the National Sleep Foundation shows that the carbohydrates in the cereal work together with the calcium in the milk to induce sleep faster.
Corn chips and pretzels can also among the food that can you to sleep faster due to their high glycemic index. Eating these snacks will increase your blood sugar and insulin levels which in turn will cause the release of more tryptophan into your brain.
5. Fish: Tuna, Salmon, Halibut, Shrimp, and Lobster
Fres water fish such as tuna and salmon are naturally rich in vitamin B6, a vitamin that is vital for the creation of and serotonin and melatonin in your body.
Shellfish like lobster, prawns, and shrimp, on the other hand, naturally contain much more of tryptophan. Eating any of these fish will make it a lot easier for you to doze off and stay asleep throughout the night.
6. Jasmine Rice
While all types of rice naturally comprise of the high glycemic index, jasmine rice has by far the highest glycemic index. A report that was put out in the Journal American of Clinical Nutrition showed that some of the people who managed to ate this type of rice fell asleep a lot faster than the people who ate different types of rice. Eating this rice practically guarantees that you will enjoy a whole night of deep, restful, and uninterrupted sleep.
7. Tart Cherry Juice
Tart cherries have been used before in medical studies aimed at finding remedies for insomnia. One particular study that was done by the Rochester University proved that drinking just one glass of tart cherry juice increases the production of melatonin in the brain, leading to drowsiness and much more restful sleep. The subjects reported notable improvements in their symptoms of insomnia.
8. Tea: Chamomile Tea, and Passion Fruit Tea
Researchers have shown that the calming effect we get from tea is much more pronounced in chamomile tea and passion fruit tea. In chamomile tea, this is attributed to the presence of glycine, a nerve and muscle relaxant that helps the body loosen up just before drifting to sleep.
A study in Australia has proved that passion fruit tea could also induce drowsiness and cause deeper sleep rhythms due to the presence of Harman alkaloids, chemicals from the passion fruit flower that directly affect the nervous system to induce sleep.
9. Honey
Honey has been a home remedy for years in the treatment of the flu, stomach aches, and various skin conditions. The natural sugar found in honey can be just enough to trigger an adequate amount of insulin in the bloodstream, thereby increasing the brain’s tryptophan intake significantly. You could add a dollop of honey to your nighttime cup of tea to enjoy its full effects.
10. Hummus
Aside from being highly nutritious and very tasty, hummus is said to be rich in tryptophan, the amino acid necessary for the production of melatonin. Making this dip part of your nighttime meal could help you drift off to sleep a lot faster and also improve the quality of your nighttime rest.
11. Elk Meat
Yes, you read it right. Elk meat. We all know how turkey meat can induce a serious spell of sleepiness when consumed due to its high tryptophan content. Elk meat has twice the amount of tryptophan contained in turkey meat. Picture all of your relatives nodding off at Thanksgiving. Although it will be a little harder to find (like in Canada!?), eating elk meat will help you sleep faster than any other food will since the abundance of tryptophan in the brain will lead to the increased production of melatonin.
Eating any of the foods listed above in combination with Relaxium Sleep will give you a great night’s sleep.