tryptophan-containing foods Archive - Simply Healthy Sleep - The online-magazine for your perfect sleep experience

After a sleep-friendly designed day, a good, restful night full of healthy sleep starts with a proper dinner. This also is a symbolic act of dividing the day passed (activity) from the oncoming night (passivity/sleep). Now, it is important to stick to relaxation and sleep rules. We are talking about sleep hygiene. From now on, everything you do or you don’t do counts. There is wide experience from sleep medicine and sleep psychology. Because, naturally your sleep also depends from your behavior and especially from your habits. It is important to get used to a “sleep-friendly behavior”. For example, step by step get accustomed to a regular time to go to bed. The dinner might be an appropriate starting signal.

Here, the rule is simple: prefer easily digestible meals, the mix of food is important, too.

When eating carbs eat wholemeal noodles, rice or bread or potatoes. A combination of movement in the sun and carbohydrates stimulates the production of serotonin (happy hormone). Serotonin is a precursor for the sleeping hormone melatonin.
Mix your carbs with tryptophan-containing foods like chicken, turkey, fish, cashews etc. Tryptophan is an amino-acid that favors the production of melatonin. In any case avoid fatty food.

By the way: the optimal time for your sleep-well-dinner is two to three hours before your actual time to go to bed.

Receive further information in our sleep-healthy-guidebook “sleep yourself young, fit and successful”, free of cost.

Image: @deathtostockphoto

When your melatonin level is too high or too low it has negative effects on our organism. Often, this leads to sleep disturbances and tiredness. A melatonin level with an average of 10 pg/ml (picogram per milliliter) during the day and 100 pg/ml during the night are said to be normal.

Symptoms and causes

Melatonin level too low

When the melatonin level is under the above mentioned values it might lead to sleeping problems and consequently lack of sleep and tiredness. This has a negative effect on the general well-being. Sleep disturbances depending on a lack of melatonin especially express with problems to fall asleep and early awakening. The resulting missing and therefore not very restful sleep can cause susceptibility to diseases, concentration disturbances, poor memory, mood swings etc.

Since the melatonin production constantly decreases in the course of life older people are more concerned by this. But due to our modern lifestyle and certain factors from the outside, many people often suffer under a lack of melatonin. Influencing factors might be

long phases of daylight in summer, long phases of artificial light due to electric light, computer and TV
lack of serotonin
intake of certain medications like for example beta blockers
consumption of caffeine, alcohol or tobacco
too intensive sport too late in the evening
ongoing stress

When your problems to fall asleep and waking up too early persist it is advisable to check your melatonin level. If the level actually is too low, try to spend as much time as possible in natural day light and eat tryptophan-containing foods. These two support production of the happy hormone serotonin – precursor of melatonin.

Melatonin level too high

An increased melatonin level, too, is noticeable by sleep disturbances and tiredness. An increased melatonin level makes waking up in the morning difficult. During the day, you are feeling whacked and lethargic. Especially in the colder and darker months of autumn and winter the melatonin production is increased. This also might lead to seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

A too high melatonin level can be caused by

long phases of darkness in the winter
liver dysfunction
high intake of vitamins B3 or B6
intake of tryptophan or certain antidepressants

Here, too, daylight is helpful. And – as soon as the days start to get longer, the symptoms decrease.

Receive further information in our sleep-healthy-guidebook “sleep yourself young, fit and successful”, free of cost.

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Suitable dinner

Effects of an unbalanced melatonin level

Symptoms and causes