You are suffering under fall asleep disturbances? Observe your evening eating habits. A friendly get-together with friends and family or “switching off” in front of the TV – here, the temptation for snacks is especially big. But still, you should think about what you are consuming. Eating too late in the evening disturbs sleeping at any case, but the following products have an especially big impact on sleep:
It’s the choice that matters
The sleeping hormone melatonin regulates the sleep-wake-cycle of the human being. For sure, serotonin- and tryptophan-containing food is the better alternative to crudités, French fries, salami, chocolate or coffee. But, you’d better avoid valuable food like Chia seeds as well: they are real energy suppliers and therefore it is better to eat them in the morning than in the evening.
Eaten too late, indigestive crudité is able to diminish your sleeping quality. Eat bananas instead: bananas are full of sleep enhancing tryptophan (an amino-acid which leads to production of melatonin), magnesium and potassium.
French fries, chips and baked mushrooms are heavy on the stomach and therefore a bad choice before going to sleep. Fatty and fried food is not only fattening, the energy needed for digestion may also lead to disturbances in your sleep-rhythm. Carbohydrates from noodles, wholemeal rice or potatoes clearly are the better choice. Combined with exercise in fresh air you are increasing the production of the happy hormone serotonin, which is a precursor of melatonin.
The perfect complement for this is tryptophan-containing food like chicken, tuna, walnuts or cashew-nuts.
Did you know that chocolate is containing caffeine? The darker the chocolate, the more of this stimulant it is containing. Out of this reason, the same applies as for caffeine: don’t eat this sweet treat later than early afternoon, later it might interfere with your wish to fall asleep. Before going to sleep you’d better have some melatonin-containing things like walnuts, almonds or cherries. Or an (unsweetened) cacao.
You want to trick your sleeping problems with decaffeinated coffee? Unfortunately this is not working. As investigations revealed, practically all decaffeinated coffees contain a rest of caffeine. Ayurvedic teas with a soothing effect will bring relaxation and calm.
Last but not least, a remedy from the old days: a cup of warm milk with a spoon of honey!
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