10 SLEEP-INDUCING FOODS
Sleep expert Dr Nerina Ramlakhan prescribes food cures to improve your rest.
MOST protein-rich foods contain naturally occurring tryptophan, an essential amino acid in making serotonin, which in turn converts to melatonin in the brain’s pineal gland. Increasing the melatonin levels in your bloodstream signals the brain and body that it is time for sleep. Tryptophan cannot be made by the body and must be either taken in from foods, or through supplements that can vary widely in quality.
However, you can support the production or availability of tryptophan to the body by eating carbohydrates. Foods rich in vitamin B6 are used in the production of serotonin, while some foods are natural sources of melatonin.
Foods with the highest tryptophan concentration include chocolate, oats, dried dates, milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, eggs, fish, poultry, red meat, sesame, chickpeas, almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, peanuts (and peanut butter), buckwheat, spirulina, and bananas. With that in mind, here are my 10 favourite foods to eat for super sleep: 1 Fish such as salmon, tuna, and halibut, with garlic and pistachio nuts, are rich sources of vitamin B6 which is used in the production of serotonin.
2 Salads with lettuce are high in lactucarium, the milky substance you sometimes see when you cut the leaves, which has sedative properties. 3 The mineral calcium helps the body convert tryptophan into melatonin. Make sure that you’re eating plenty of leafy vegetables such as kale, spinach and mustard greens, all great sources of calcium.
4 Tart cherries naturally boost melatonin levels and can be added to salads. Alternatively, enjoy a glass of cherry juice with dinner.
5 Walnuts are an excellent source of tryptophan and a natural source of melatonin. Walnuts are a great addition to the fish, salads and vegetables listed above.
6 Almonds are another valuable nut for sleep because of their high magnesium content. Low magnesium levels are associated with symptoms of restless legs and sleep difficulty. Eating almonds daily or taking a daily magnesium supplement may be helpful for reducing any restlessness in your legs so you fall asleep faster. I can attest to this personally with a 35-year history of moderate, restless legs syndrome. I now use honey-roasted almonds in salads, make smoothies with almond flour, and take 500mg of magnesium citrate nightly, a few hours ahead of bedtime.
7 Chickpeas, found in hummus, are an excellent source of tryptophan. So, if you need a snack to stave off hunger before bedtime, consider hummus on wholegrain crackers (see panel below).
8 Honey, with natural sugar, aids in transporting tryptophan to the brain without spiking your insulin level, making it a better carbohydrate choice.
9 Treat yourself to a cuppa — chamomile tea contains the chemical glycine, which relaxes nerves and muscles and induces a mild sedative effect. Add a little honey to your chamomile tea at dinner or at least 90 minutes ahead of bedtime for a more restful sleep. Passionfruit tea contains chemical alkaloids that have a sedative effect. Drinking a cup of passionfruit tea an hour before bedtime may help you sleep more deeply.
10 Avoid skipping breakfast as this is vital to stabilising your blood sugar levels and helping you to produce the melatonin that will enable you to sleep later on. Make sure your breakfast includes a source of protein, eg, nut butter on your toast or ground almonds on your porridge. Dr Nerina Ramlakhan’s latest book is ‘Fast Asleep Wide Awake’ (Harper Collins, 2016).