Dr Michael Mosley’s

SLEEP PLAN FINAL WEEK!

OVER the past few weeks I have written about insomnia and provided you with sciencebased tips on ways to improve the quality of your sleep. I’ve recommended using a sleep diary, establishing daily bedtimes, and waking-up times and going out for a morning walk to reap the benefits of early morning light. This week, I want to talk about the foods we eat, and how some simple diet changes can hugely benefit your sleeping patterns too. The key is eating plenty of foods that feed the ‘good’ bacteria in your intestines.

GUT BUGS THAT HELP YOU SLEEP

THE microbes that live in your gut are brilliant chemists. Some of these bacteria can turn foods into chemical signals that influence your mood and appetite. This, in turn, can impact your sleep. I took part in an experiment with Dr Phil Burnett, a neuroscientist at Oxford University, who has an interest in the effects of gut bacteria on brain function. He suggested that to improve my insomnia, I take a daily fibre supplement to boost my levels of a range of healthy gut bacteria. Although this research is at early stages, recent studies showed that people who had a varied mix of microbes in their gut slept significantly better than those who did not. To my great surprise, after taking a fibre supplement for a few days, my sleep did indeed improve.

LENTILS AND CHICKPEAS

STUDIES have shown that fibrerich foods improve the quality of deep sleep, possibly due to sleep-inducing gut bacteria. Try to choose foods with a high fibre content such as lentils,

chickpeas and kidney beans.

FULL - FAT YOGURT

YOGURT is made using a number of different species of bacteria including Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus which, in animal studies, have been shown to reduce stress, which commonly affects sleep.

SAUERKRAUT, KEFIR AND PICKLES

IN FERMENTATION, microorganisms convert sugars and starch into alcohol or acids and are rich in microbes which have been shown to be beneficial to physical and mental health. Stick to homemade fermented foods if possible – many shop products have been pasteurised, so there is nothing living in them.

KICK THE CAKES

PROCESSED food such as shopbought cakes and ready meals contain emulsifiers and other chemicals that damage your microbiome. Eating sugary foods before bed may disrupt sleep.