Eat less, eat right: Food hacks for a sound sleep
Pandemic and WFH culture is seriously affecting the sleep habit, but altering the diet may help sleep better
If the stress of the pandemic has stolen your sleep, it is important to find a quick remedy for it, as continuous sleep debt can lead to multiple long term health issues. Can food help? Yes it can.
It’s a well known fact that lighter meals make for a restful night’s sleep. That is because while you may feel drowsy and fall asleep quicker after a heavy meal, all the intestinal action needed to digest a large-sized meal is likely to make you wake up frequently in the night, thus leading to a poor quality of sleep.
Sleeping on a stretched belly filled with food pushes the stomach up and with it the diaphragm too, leaving less space for the lungs and you literally have difficulty in breathing. Big servings also prolong the work of digestive system, and all the gas production and consequent rumblings keeps one awake.
Also be wary of having too much caffeine late in the day. Caffeine (coffee, tea, cola, energy drinks) is a stimulant and accelerates not only the nervous system, but also other major body systems, causing an increase in the adrenaline level of the blood. This sets off an increase in breathing rate, heart rate, urine output and the production of stomach acids – all resulting in too much action for the resting period. So stop caffeine beverages four to six hours before bedtime.
Key to a restful night’s sleep is to get your brain calm rather than revved up. Focus on ‘sleeper’ foods, which contain tryptophan. It is the amino acid that body uses to make serotonin, the neurotransmitter that slows down brain activity and pumps the production of sleepinducing chemicals.
There are also snooze food, that help in achieving better sleep pattern. These food items are high in tryptophan and include dairy products such as cottage cheese, cheese and milk; soy products like soy milk, tofu, soybean nuts as well as seafood, meats and poultry items. Other snooze food are whole grains, bajra, barley, millets, beans rice, humus, lentils, peanuts, cashew nuts, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, colocasia and sweet potato.
Tip: Haldi doodh (turmeric milk) helps immensely in a getting a good night sleep. Add a pinch of black pepper to ensure better absorption of curcumin. Also munch on a couple of walnuts at bed time to score more sleep inducing melatonin.