An expert has revealed five healthy foods that could help improve your sleep if consumed before bedtime. Having issues with your sleep is not uncommon with the NHS reporting that around one in three of us will experience it at some point in our lives.
It can be caused by a huge range of factors, from stress and anxiety, to the weather, illness, and injury. Sometimes it might feel like there’s absolutely no reason for it at all.
While in some cases this could therefore be out of our hands, there are steps we can take to increase our chances of a good night’s sleep. This even includes our diet.
With this in mind, Cheryl Lythgoe – society matron at Benenden Health, created a list of the best foods to eat to get us to sleep and keep us asleep. She explained: “If you’ve tried every sleep remedy under the sun and you’re tired of struggling to sleep through the night, it could be because you’re eating the wrong foods before bed.
“For example, refined sugars and caffeine are notoriously harmful to your sleep routine. There are plenty of foods you’ll likely have in your cupboard or weekly shopping list that are in fact sleep-aiding.
“For those who love a late-night dessert, natural foods like cherries or bananas are excellent for promoting a good sleep and satisfying your sweet tooth at the same time.”
Naturally high in melatonin (which helps promote a good night’s sleep), snacking on cherries or sipping some cherry juice before bed is a great way to encourage a longer, deeper sleep, she said.
According to Cheryl, bananas are one of the best foods for sleep, due to their high levels of magnesium and tryptophan which relax the muscles and calm the body. She recommended trying sliced banana with a tablespoon of nut butter before bed to help getting some shut eye.
Honey stimulates melatonin and settles the part of our brain that regulates wakefulness. Try brewing up a hot lemon and honey drink to get you ready for bedtime.
It might surprise you to know that turkey is known to promote a full night’s sleep due to its high levels of essential amino acids. Cheryl warned: “Just don’t eat an entire plateful before bed; one or two thin slices will suffice.”
Like bananas, almonds are high in magnesium which helps to regulate our blood sugar levels as we sleep, helping to switch the busy working mind from the adrenaline cycle to a more restful “rest and digest” cycle.
If changing up your diet isn’t working, she also advised sticking to a regular sleep schedule. Cheryl said: “To improve sleep patterns, it’s important to review what and when we are eating, not forgetting to brush our teeth, and also ensure we instil a regular routine; this allows the body to recognise those ‘bedtime’ signals and help to have a restful night.”
The NHS also recommends the following steps if you’ve been suffering from insomnia:
The health body says you should speak to your GP if:
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