Have you noticed that some nights you sleep perfectly well while other times you have a restless sleep? Apart from the fact that the stress of the day plays an important role in the quality of your sleep, did you know that there is a link between what you eat and your sleep?
Indeed, it has been shown that some foods make it easier to fall asleep while others tend to make you feel irritated.
Foods to choose for a good night's sleep
Did you know that insomnia is linked to low serotonin levels? That's why it's important to include foods rich in tryptophan, as they are essential to the body's production of serotonin. Since it is an essential amino acid, we can only get it from the foods we eat. Most of them are of animal origin, such as dairy products, poultry, fish or eggs, but some plant foods are interesting for their tryptophan content: pulses (chickpeas, lentils, dried beans), some seeds (squash, sesame, sunflower), cashew nuts, some fruits (banana, mango and dates).
Slow sugars provide carbohydrates and facilitate the production of melatonin (sleep hormone); they are found in bread, pasta, rice and potatoes.
Some herbal teas also help you relax and fall asleep. The plants to choose are valerian, passion flower, verbena, lemon balm and chamomile. Of course, choose organic herbal teas!
Foods that disturb sleep
Whether for you or for the children, avoid foods containing too much vitamin C such as citrus fruits and kiwis, save them for breakfast. Also avoid spicy foods that can cause heat and heartburn during the night.avoid red meat because its proteins take a long time to digest, which can delay sleep but also cause you to wake up during the night.fatty foods require a lot of energy from the body to digest, which can disrupt sleep. To sleep well, avoid at dinner time, cream, butter, fries, burgers, ... Also beware of aperitif dinners where often mix salami, cheese, chips, ...
Of course, in order to sleep well, it is advisable to avoid exciting drinks in the evening such as tea, coffee, alcohol and certain soft drinks.
A light dinner to sleep well
The quantity is also to be taken into account, a meal too heavy will be difficult to digest and will disturb the sleep, just like going to bed with an empty stomach, you could wake up at 3 o'clock in the morning with the desire to devour everything you find in the refrigerator! It is therefore necessary to eat in reasonable quantities.
As for the dinner schedule, the ideal would be to eat 3 hours before going to bed so that digestion has already started.
To prepare yourself for sleep, prepare a soothing and digestive infusion before getting into bed!
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