Best Foods That Help You For Sleep Disorder And Insomnia!
sleep
Foods That Help For a Good Night’s Sleep And Insomnia:
How many times did it happen to you to have a bad day? How many times did it happen to you to not be in the mood for anything? Well, it might help you to know that sometimes bad days or bad moods are the result of improper sleep during nights. sleep
Sleep brings more energy into people and can make us think clearly and in a more positive way. In addition, sleep can also be considered as a method of relieving stress build up during the day. It is recommended to sleep around 7 or 8 hours a night in order to function at maximum capacity. Going to sleep earlier or later than we have to can also have a negative influence on our after sleep mood.
For example,
your wife tells you better even if you sleep less during the normal night period as compared to sleeping more hours but in the day, morning, etc.
- Research has shown that less or bad sleep during the night can affect our health.
- Sleeping 4 hours or less for several days can gradually affect our ability to perform complex tasks.
- This can also cause several changes in the immunological system.
- Other surveys found social inequalities in sleep problems with less sleep recorded for people with low income and low education.
How to Deal With Chronic Insomnia? Cures For Insomnia:
There is an unfortunate number of people who suffer from insomnia and chronic insomnia these days. A lot of people find relief through medication, though perhaps this is not the best cure. Thankfully, there are natural ways of curing insomnia which will leave you able to sleep better and be healthier without becoming addicted to sleeping pills.
Insomnia usually has a distinct cause behind it,
though it may be different for each person. Common causes of insomnia are overconsumption of caffeine, lack of proper nutrition and exercise, stress, or a bad sleeping environment. All of these causes are easy to correct.
- If you are an avid coffee or tea drinker, limit your cups to just one or two per day.
- Furthermore, avoid drinking anything caffeinated within four to five hours of bedtime.
- Pay attention to when you eat. If you eat very near your bedtime, your body will still be working on digestion and will not be able to settle into sleep.
- Try eating your last meal several hours before bedtime, and learn what works best for your body so you are neither too full nor too hungry when you are ready to sleep.
Another practical cure for insomnia is,
to schedule a consistent bedtime and wake up time every day. A slight chance of a half hour or so is not a problem, but when you go to sleep and get up at varied times throughout the week, your body is never able to fully understand when it should be awake and when it should be sleeping.
Get Balanced diet:
- Many people who do not eat a balanced diet or participate in frequent exercise suffer from insomnia.
- Food plays an important role in how well you sleep, and it is known that those who eat nutritiously have better sleep habits overall.
Exercise:
Exercise is essential in getting a good night’s sleep as well and can reduce chronic pain or discomfort which may also affect your rest.
Avoid Stress:
- If you think your insomnia may be caused by stress, trying incorporating stress reducers into your evening routine.
- You might try yoga, a warm bath, or reading a good book by candlelight.
- Light stretching, quiet music, or a back rub can also help the body settle down.
Finally,
- You may suffer from insomnia simply because of the bedroom or bed on which you sleep.
- Make sure you have a comfortable mattress, a pillow that gives the proper support, and blankets enough to keep you warm.
- Be sure the room is dark enough, free of stress-inducing items, and the proper temperature.
Ways to prepare yourself for sleep:
Try to get your body to relax – practice relaxation techniques and quiet breathing. When you breathe, take a deep breath while relaxing your muscles and then let it out. Do this several times. Do not think about anything other than feeling your stress go away. Other things that might work for you would be to take a warm scented bath, read a good book or listen to soothing music.
Do not think about your day during this time.
This is your relaxation time. Any thoughts of your day at work or your troubles could affect your sleep. Do not do any planning for work, school, kids or responsibilities during this time up to 45 minutes before you plan to go to sleep.
If you are having a hard time getting people to leave you alone during this time period, you will need to do some pre-planning and set up some boundaries. To set up boundaries, you will need to let the people whom you come in contact with during the daytime know that you are not to be bothered during this time and throughout the night, and tell them why.
Additionally, avoid the obvious:
- Caffeine in any form an hour to an hour and a half before sleep – a better choice is water, but keep in mind that too much water will have you in the bathroom also. This will not help with your insomnia
- Food after 7 pm – you don’t want your body working when it should be resting or sleeping
- Working out an hour before you go to bed – it takes your body time to settle down after a workout and may keep you up
- Minimize Stress – you do not need to get yourself all worked up just before bed. Try and minimize any arguing, complaining or fighting within an hour of bedtime
Also,
- Bills – do not process your checkbook balance sheet before bedtime – Do it earlier in the day when you can do something about it. Just before bedtime will keep you up worrying. If you haven’t completed this task by 8 pm in the evening, staying up all night long worrying about it won’t help you and will hurt you the next day.
- Children and animals – get both of these in good habits of going to bed in their proper places at the proper time. You can spend many sleepless nights dealing with letting the animals out and getting glasses of water for your sleepwalking child.
Foods That Stop You from Sleeping – Some of Insomnia Causes:
Foods that contain caffeine are the main culprits in keeping people from sleeping, such as tea, coffee, and cola. Caffeine stimulates the nervous system as well as other body systems. Within about fifteen minutes of having a cup of coffee, adrenaline levels increase, triggering a rise in heart rate, breathing rate, urine production, and stomach acid production…the opposite of what happens when you go to sleep.
The other thing that caffeine does is stimulate sugar cravings by inducing the release of sugar stored in the liver. Some people are more sensitive to caffeine than others, so even if you know people who can drink coffee in the evening and still sleep well, there are many that cannot. Some people get hyped up after one cola, while others can drink multiple cups of coffee and feel fine.
Timing is important.
The effects of caffeine usually wear off within about six hours, so morning and lunch-time coffee should not affect your sleep, but coffee, tea or cola, later on, may well keep you from sleeping.
Believe it or not, chocolate does not actually contain a lot of caffeine. A couple of choc chip cookies contain under five milligrams of caffeine and a chocolate candy bar around ten milligrams. Compare this to a cup of brewed coffee that contains about 100 milligrams.
A cup of tea contains about 35 milligrams of caffeine. You can reduce this by re-using teabags. Avoid squeezing the tea-bag too, as these droplets are concentrated with caffeine.
Food Can help when it comes to getting solid sleep:
The following foods are known to stimulate sleep-inducing hormones like serotonin (an important neurotransmitter involved in the regulation of sleep, anger, aggression, body temperature, mood, etc.) and melatonin (melatonin regulates our body’s perception of night and day and stimulates sleep when night falls.
People suffering from insomnia do not produce enough melatonin:
- Also, stress can reduce the level of melatonin produced by our bodies).
- In addition, these foods have other positive side effects like relaxing the tense muscle, calming stressed minds.
Side Effects of Insomnia and Sleep Deprivation:
1. Depression:
A large number of insomnia sufferers can start to feel depressed as the condition takes hold. Being unable to sleep over a number of weeks or months can cause a person to feel incredibly down. Depression is often the next natural step.
2. Heart Disease:
A growing number of people who suffer from insomnia also suffer from heart disease. Experts believe this is due to the fact that sleep deprivation leads a body to be physically weakened.
3. Lack Of Concentration:
Another common insomnia side effect is a lack of concentration. Normally, people who’ve been fast thinkers in the past start to become more sluggish as their mental ability starts to fade. If you’re not getting enough sleep you will not be as mentally alert as you should be.
4. Painful Headache:
A lack of sleep can also be characterized by frequent and very painful headaches. This is one of the most widespread insomnia side effects and results for many to reach for pain relievers as a solution. Taking pills to mask the problem is not a permanent answer and can lead to a reliance on painkillers.
5. Hallucinations:
A hallucination can seem very real at the time and can make a person feel as though they’re about to lose their mind. It can be a very real and serious consequence of insomnia, and it happens more often than you would imagine.
Here’re Best Foods For Sleep Disorder And Insomnia?
1. Bananas:
Bananas contain melatonin and serotonin which are practically some of the best sleep stimulating substances (such substances are frequently used in the pharmaceutical industry). In addition, bananas contain magnesium which has a relaxing effect on muscles.
2. Warm milk:
- As probably a lot of us know from childhood, a glass of warm milk was the solution when we couldn’t fall asleep.
- The explanation for this would be that milk contains tryptophan, which is an amino acid that has a sedative effect.
- Moreover, the calcium contained by milk helps the brain use tryptophan.
3. Chamomile tea:
- Chamomile is one of the oldest garden herbs which was considered a universal remedy in ancient Egypt.
- The plant is usually used for tea making and, as we all know, tea has a relaxing effect and is most often used for this purpose.
- Chamomile tea is generally known not only for its relaxing effect but for its sedating effect as well, being in this way the perfect natural antidote for stressed minds and bodies.
4. Honey:
- Usually, sweet food products provide an extra quantity of energy for our bodies.
- When we think of extra energy, we definitely do not think of sleeping.
- However, recent studies have discovered that glucose (like the one contained by honey) can stimulate the brain to reduce the quantity of orexin.
- Orexin is a recently discovered neurotransmitter that is connected to alertness.
5. Potatoes:
- Potatoes clear away acids that can interfere with tryptophan amino acid.
Baked potatoes can have an even greater sleep-inducing effect if they are combined with warm milk when eaten.
6. Almonds:
Almonds are rich in magnesium, a mineral needed for quality sleep (and also a known headache remedy). A study found that when the body’s magnesium levels are too low, it makes it harder to stay asleep.
7. Oatmeal:
Oats are good for a good night’s sleep because they stimulate the production of melatonin.
8. Whole-wheat bread:
Eating bread will cause insulin to be released into the body, which helps tryptophan get to the brain where it’s converted to serotonin.
9. Turkey:
Turkeys are a very good source of tryptophan. However, bear in mind that tryptophan is most effective when the stomach is basically empty, not full, and when there are some carbs in the stomach, not lots of proteins.
10. Flax seeds:
- These little seeds are rich in omega 3 fatty acids.
- Acids that act as natural mood lifters.
- So, when feeling down is what’s keeping you up, these seeds should be considered as the antidote.
11. Tart Cherry Juice:
Melatonin-rich tart cherry juice was shown to aid sleep. When adults with chronic insomnia drank a cup of tart cherry juice twice a day they experienced some relief in the severity of their insomnia.
12. Yogurt:
Dairy products like yogurt and milk boast healthy doses of calcium and there’s research that suggests being calcium-deficient may make it difficult to fall asleep.
13. Chickpeas:
- Chickpeas boast vitamin B6, which is needed to make melatonin (a sleep-inducing hormone triggered by darkness).
- according to an article published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.
14. Cherries:
Sleep is a huge part of making any diet and exercise plan work, as it allows your body to process and recovers from all the sweat and breakdown of muscle. And cherries are the perfect fruit for the job.
Cherries act as a natural sleep aid thanks to their melatonin content, a naturally produced hormone that signals to our bodies that it’s time for bed.
15. Spinach:
- Spinach is an insomniac’s best friend, It contains glutamine, an amino acid which stimulates the body to get rid of the cellular toxins that lead to sleeplessness.
- When it comes to cooking spinach, avoid the flame.
- Heat breaks down glutamine as well as vitamins C and B, so it’s best to eat spinach raw combine with a banana and almond milk for the perfect before-bed snack.
16. Lettuce:
A salad with dinner could speed up your bedtime since lettuce contains lactucarium, which has sedative properties and affects the brain similarly to opium.
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Disclaimer: “Nothing in this article makes any claim to offer cures or treatment of any disease or illness. If you are sick please consult with your doctor.”
Excellent nutrition is the basis of a healthy diet!
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