Role of food in sleep.

“Food”. A word that brings one single thought in your mind that depends on your taste and apatite. For some food is just a thing to be consumed for survival, for some food is a religion and for some food is the thing to ran away from. Different people leads to different perspectives regarding food. Today, here in this article I’ll not discuss about the varieties of food and how people relate themself to the it, but rather, I have a different perspective to look at this whole, common but the most uncommon thing “FOOD”.

The effect of what you eat and drink on your sleep isn’t as well understood as how sleep affects your food choices, there is some evidence to support a link between the two.

Researchers have found that eating and drinking poor quality and highly processed carbohydrates, such as noodles, sweets, energy or sugary drinks, are associated with poor sleep quality. Eating more high-quality carbohydrates (such as whole grains), fish, colourful vegetables and following a Mediterranean-style eating plan can improve sleep quality.

Other studies have found that foods containing tryptophan (an amino acid) can help synthesise serotonin and melatonin – and may help to promote sleep.

Caffeine is a stimulant and can have a negative effect on your sleep by making it harder for you to fall asleep. This delay in getting to sleep can shorten your overall sleep time. Read more about sleep and caffeine.

Alcohol may help you relax and fall asleep in the short term but, over the night, it inhibits the sleep process and can prevent you from getting deep, restful sleep.

Based on current evidence, eating the following foods each day can improve your chances of a good night’s sleep:

• Follow a Mediterranean eating plan, which includes plenty of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, fish, olive oil and less red meat and processed foods.
• Include protein foods that contain tryptophan, such as chicken, eggs, cheese, fish, peanuts, pumpkin and sesame seeds, milk, turkey, tofu and other soy products.
• Choose high-quality carbohydrate foods, such as wholegrain breads and cereals, brown rice and oats.
• Eat plenty of fresh, seasonal vegetables and fruit.

Eat less of these foods and drinks to help improve the quality of your sleep:

• highly processed carbohydrates, such as refined noodles, sweets, energy or sugary drinks
• spicy foods, especially if you’re prone to heartburn.

Don’t do these things close to bedtime:

• eat or drink anything with caffeine in it within 6–8 hours of your bedtime – this includes coffee, tea, energy drinks and chocolate (including hot chocolate drinks)
• drink too much liquid just before bedtime (it makes you wake often to go to the loo!).

If you’ve made the changes above to what you do and don’t eat and drink during the day, but are still having trouble getting to sleep, try these ideas:

• High protein foods may help with sleep when eaten about 1 hour before bedtime, such as:
• fortified and/or melatonin-rich milk drinks (eg, Horlicks)
• yoghurt with oats sprinkled on top
• crackers with peanut butter or a slice of cheese or turkey
• apple with a small slice of cheese.
• Tart cherries and kiwifruit have also been found to improve sleep quality and length in some small trials.

Note: There is no evidence that probiotic supplements or chamomile tea improve sleep.