When life gets hectic, we have all found ourselves wishing that there were more hours in a day. Sometimes, unfortunately, we get our wish-at the expense of our sleep. Few things are more miserable than lying awake, frustrated and tired, when everybody else is sleeping soundly. Insomnia is usually temporary, of course, caused by too much coffee , perhaps, or anxiety about the list of things still to be done.
Do not skip meals-especially supper
Eating draws blood into the gastrointestinal tract and away from the brain. If you draw blood away from the brain, you are going to get sleepy. Research shows that blood glucose levels are the main trigger for hypocretin, cells in the brain that keep you awake. When you go to bed on an empty stomach, and your blood glucose levels are low, hypocretin cells become active, and that keeps you from going to sleep. This being said, it is also not recommended to eat a very large portion at night as this can leave you bloated and gassy, which is more likely to keep you awake than help you sleep.
Talking Turkey
Why is one sleepy after a meal of turkey? This is because turkey (as well as dairy food items) contains an amino acid called tryptophan, which has been shown to affect the part of the brain that governs sleep. The body converts the tryptophan to serotonin, which is then converted to melatonin. Both serotonin and melatonin make you feel relaxed and sleepy. For tryptophan to be most effective, however, it is important to get it in combination with starches. When you eat starches (e.g. Slice of wholegrain bread), the body releases insulin, which pushes all the amino acids except tryptophan into muscle cells. This leaves tryptophan alone in the bloodstream, so it is first in line to get into the brain. A glass of low fat milk has enough carbohydrates to boost ones tryptophan levels, making sleep a little bit easier.
Sleep robbers
Coffee, alcohol chocolate can send your brain into overdrive.
A natural sleep aid
The “sleepy-time” hormone, melatonin, is found in a variety of foods, such as, oats, sweetcorn, bananas, ginger, rice and barley. A deficiency of vitamins and minerals may also affect your sleep. Thus, the better your diet, the better your sleep pattern is likely to be. Iron (found in shellfish, lentils, nuts and wholegrains) and magnesium (found in dried beans, green leafy vegetables pumpkin seeds and almonds) are important. The body uses vitamin B (found in lean meat) to regulate many amino acids, including tryptophan. Niacin is particularly important as it appears to make tryptophan work even more efficiently