A better sleep guide to registering a life kit, Limited newsletter series. Over the course of a week, we will send you scientifically supported strategies to help you better, deeper, and longer.
Want a better sleep at night? Sleep experts say you may need to rethink your eating habits.
For example, falling off on a giant cheeseburger and then having a fanatical cocktail before bed can ruin your night break. Snacks on a bowl of cherries instead of sugar cookies may make your sleep more peaceful.
“What you eat can work in the quality of sleep at night, in terms of nutrients, fat, sugar and fiber.” Marie-Pierre St-ongenutrition scientist and researchers at Columbia University, and co-author of the recipe Eat better, sleep better.
We ask sleep researchers to share scientifically supported eating habits for improving sleep. It's their business and not doing it.
Tryptophan is the amino acid we get from food, which has been converted into serotonin and melatonin in the brain, and chemicals in our body play an important role in sleep, St-Onge said.
“Melatonin is very important to help a person fall asleep and fall asleep all night.” “Serotonin makes people happy and is associated with our sleep wake cycle.”
You can Almonds, barley, brown rice, chia seeds, lentils, oats, pumpkin seeds, salmon, tofu, turkey, walnuts, white beans and yogurt.
But don't think eating these foods will make you sleepy immediately. Saint-onge says tryptophan is not a sedative. Over time, incorporate these ingredients into your diet to promote healthier sleep.
Nutrition scientist Marie-Pierre St-Onge shares her list of top 20 sleep ingredients in her recipes, Eat better, sleep better: Almonds, bananas, barley, brown rice, cherry, chia seeds, dental oil, ginger, lentils, oats, pineapple, pineapple, pumpkin seeds, salmon, salmon, spinach, tofu, tomatoes, Turkey, turkey, walnuts, walnuts, white beans, white beans and Yogurt. Many people contain a variety of nutrients to improve sleep.
Photos of Tbralnina, Annapustynnikova
/NPR Collage
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One of the best ways to improve your sleep health is to eat more fruits and vegetables, St-Onge said. "Add more vegetables to the recipe. Swap more processed refined foods with a piece of fruit."
Many fruits and vegetables are “a good source of multiple sleep nutrition”, St-Onge said. These include serotonin, melatonin and micronutrients such as magnesium, vitamin B6 and folic acid, which also helps the body produce melatonin.
They are also an important source of fiber. Through her researchSt-Onge found that people with high fiber diets tend to fall asleep deeper.
“Eventually,[those healthy swaps]will start to replace more refined carbs, “plus added sugar can also ruin your sleep,” St-Onge said. A 2020 studySt-Onge and her colleagues found that "female diets with more refined carbohydrates and more sugars are higher."
St-Onge lists what she calls “strong ingredients” in her recipes. “Many of these studies support their sleep benefits,” she said. Here are just a few:
banana: Fiber, complex carbohydrates, serotonin, melatonin, magnesium, vitamin B6
cherry: Fiber, complex carbohydrates, melatonin
Pineapple: Fiber, complex carbohydrates, serotonin, melatonin
spinach: Fiber, folic acid
tomato: Fiber, complex carbohydrates, melatonin, vitamin B6
To promote sleep, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine says avoid avoiding caffeine in the afternoon and evening. You also need to consider focusing on the clock while drinking. Avoid sleeping before going to bed, says Michael Grandner, a psychologist and sleep researcher at the University of Arizona. Photo illustration of Beck Harlan/NPR Closed subtitles
If you are used to drinking an afternoon of coffee to buzz you and you need electricity for the rest of the day, know that caffeine can affect your sleep.
Caffeine will make you feel alert because it blocks adenosine, a chemical that builds up in the body during the day, making you feel sleepy at night.
Caffeine can also stick in your body for a while. exist Life suite plotSleep Researchers Matthew Walker Say caffeine has a half-life of about six hours in most people. This means that if you have coffee, tea or energy drinks at 5pm, about half of the caffeine may still be inside your body,
It can actually reduce the amount of sleep you get at night. A 2013 study Found 400 mg of caffeine (Those are two types of energy drinks) The total sleep time was reduced by one hour before bedtime.
Sensitivity to caffeine is different, but American Society of Sleep Medicine Say to avoid caffeine in the afternoon and evening. Try the best time for you. For some people, it is best to cut off caffeine in the early morning.
Some people drink alcohol before going to bed to help them fall asleep. Unfortunately, alcohol is just a temporary solution. Michael Grandnera psychologist and sleep researcher at the University of Arizona.
He said while alcohol may initially put you in trouble, “the pendulum fluctuates in the opposite direction, awakening you” because it leaves your system. It makes your sleep “shallow, rough”.
If you are considering having pajamas at night, don't drink them immediately before going to bed. Let your little episode a few hours ago. Grandner said you want alcohol to "get out of the system more time."
If you think alcohol will affect your sleep, try reducing your consumption in half. Dr. Fariha Abbasi-Feinberga sleep specialist and medical director based in Florida. "We're not saying stopping alcohol altogether. Change the time and quantity."
A big meal, such as a hamburger or a plate of pasta, right in front of the bed, can ruin your sleep, Abbasi-feinberg said. Digestion slows down at night and lays flat after eating can cause physical discomfort such as heartburn and reflux.
In short, “You shouldn’t eat and then lie down for hours at a time.”
Abasi Fenberg said he stopped eating a few hours before bed. “If your digestion is done, you tend to sleep better.”
It's great to have a snack at night. Dr. Chris Wintera neurologist and sleep specialist based in Charlottesville, Virginia. But keep it light: think hummus and fries or a bowl of cereals.
Digital Story is edited by Meghan Keane. The visual editor is Beck Harlan. We would love to hear from you. Please call us at 202-216-9823 to provide us with voicemail, or email us at lifekit@npr.org.
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