What to eat to help you sleep

BY NOW you should be sticking to a regular waking time, sorting out your bedroom and resetting your body clock with daily, brisk morning walks. You’ll also be thinking more positively thanks to the Three Good Things exercise – recorded in your Sleep Tracker.

So, now it’s time to look at what you are eating and drinking, as this can strongly influence sleep. For example, eating a heavy meal near bedtime keeps our guts busy when they should be slowing down. Try to finish eating at least a couple of hours before bedtime.

More surprisingly, what we eat during the day influences the mix of microbes that live in our guts – the microbiome – and they in turn produce chemicals that can help or hinder a good night’s sleep.

Here are some excellent recipes for meals that will nourish your body and help prepare it for a proper rest. And on the right, you’ll find my top five foods to eat more of to sleep better, and five to avoid.

The Clever Guts Diet Recipe Book, by Dr Clare Bailey, is published by Short Books at £14.99.