Don’t count on sheep for sleep
MORE and more people are failing to get the sleep their brains and bodies need for daily life.
The time we spend tucked up in bed has gone from around nine hours in the 1900s to just seven and a half hours now.
As thousands of us flock to our GPs for help, the days of counting sheep to get us nodding off are now just a pipe dream.
A lack of a proper shut-eye destroys concentration, affects mental and physical health, and can leave us feeling dozy all day.
The National Hydration Council says one in five visits to a GP are about Tatts – tired all the time syndrome.
Repair
TV doc Belinda Fenty says: “Sleep is incredibly important. It’s when our body starts to repair itself and we process all our thoughts, worries and anxieties from throughout the day.
“You spend your whole day wearing your body out and then at night it has a chance to completely reset and regenerate.
“Without sleep there are loads of different problems. You’re more likely to be anxious, depressed and less able to cope with your daily life.”
Basic advice for more restful sleep include avoiding the blue light given off by our phones and laptops – which signals the brain to wake up – and to avoid exercising just before bed. A regular sleeping pattern will also help.
But experts say diet can also have a bigger impact than we realise. Nutritionist Dr Marilyn Glenville said: “What you eat can either help you sleep easily or make it difficult.”
The first thing to cut out is caffeine. While reaching for the coffee might help you get through your day, cutting out tea, coffee, fizzy drinks and chocolate will help you switch off at night.
Caffeine is a stimulant, so removing it from your diet will help your body relax into sleep.
Avoiding alcohol, another stimulant, is also advised. It may help you fall asleep faster but can lead to poorer quality sleep and make you wake up earlier.
Other foods, though, can help get a good night’s kip.
Cherries and pumpkin seeds help bodies produce melatonin, the hormone that regulates the sleepwake cycle and helps us to fall asleep.
Pumpkin seeds are also high in magnesium, which helps
the muscle fibres in our body to relax. And foods high in tryptophan help us produce serotonin, the relaxing and calming brain chemical.
Dr Glenville said: “Tryptophan occurs in foods such as fish, whole grains, almonds and eggs. “Using them in your evening meal can help sleep.”
Eating a carbohydrate-filled meal combined with protein will help the tryptophan to spread through the body, she added.
“If you always have protein with carbohydrate to keep your blood sugar levels stable, this changes everything,” she said.
“The insulin released when you eat carbohydrates is used by the other amino acids and the tryptophan can get across the blood/brain barrier.”
A glass of pure coconut water before bed can help balance your body’s electrolytes – including potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorous and sodium.
This can help with a restful sleep. Deficiencies in those minerals can lead to cramping and wake the sleeper in the night.