Chocolate may hold the key to better sleeping

EATING plenty of dark chocolate could be the key to getting a good night’s sleep, a new study suggests.

It is rich in magnesium – an essential mineral that keeps body clocks running on time, say scientists at Edinburgh University.

So indulging in a sweet treat could help people get to sleep.

The nutrient is found in many foods including green leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds, fish, beans, whole grains, avocados, yoghurt, bananas and dried fruit.

But few people are aware it is vital to almost every function and tissue in the body – supporting a healthy immune system, preventing certain cancers and cutting the risk of a heart attack.

It seems magnesium also helps control how cells keep their own form of time to cope with the natural cycle of day and night. The surprising discovery could aid the development of chronotherapy – treatment scheduled according to time of day.

Dr Gerben van Ooijen, of Edinburgh University, said: “Internal clocks are fundamental to all living things.

“They influence many aspects of health and disease in our own bodies but equally in crop plants and micro-organisms.

“It’s now essential to find out how these fundamentally novel observations translate to whole tissue or organisms to make us better equipped to influence them in complex organisms for future medical and agricultural purposes.”

Co-author Dr John O’Neill, of Cambridge University, added: “Although the clinical relevance of magnesium in various tissues is beginning to garner more attention, how magnesium regulates our body’s internal clock and metabolism has simply not been considered before.

“The new discovery could lead to a whole range of benefits spanning human health to agricultural productivity.”