Getting a decent night’s sleep is crucial to our general health and wellbeing. If you’re struggling to nod off (this pandemic is reason enough for our sleeping patterns to be off-kilter), snacking on certain foods (asides from a cup of our bone broth of course!) could help ease you into the land of nod.
Enjoy x
Insomnia is a common problem that takes a toll on your energy, mood, health, and ability to function during the day. We all know we need an eight-hour stretch each night but this, ironically, is a dream scenario. If the problem becomes chronic, the best thing to do first is to seek the advice of your GP, but simple lifestyle changes, such as what foods you consume hours before you hit the hay can make a big difference.
Sleep expert Sammy Margo, author of The Good Sleep Guide explained that certain foods have the power to help us sleep better while eating the wrong ones, can be detrimental to our cycle. This is especially important for women, who are known to get less sleep than men.
To help us fight the battle, these are five things we could snack on before bed to help get the best night’s sleep we possibly can.
Chamomile Tea
Most of us love a cuppa before bed, but specifically, chamomile tea contains apigenin, an antioxidant that binds to certain receptors in your brain that may promote sleepiness and reduce insomnia
Bananas
Bananas are rich in magnesium, a muscle relaxant, as well as sleep-promoting hormones serotonin and melatonin, so these are an ideal pre-bedtime snack.
Almonds
These aren’t just good for a morning snack. Because they are so rich in vitamins, minerals and amino acids, these aid the promotion of melatonin, a sleep-promoting hormone.
Turkey
Turkey too, helps you feel sleepy and that’s because of its high levels of the snooze-inducing tryptophan. Those dreaded food comas? There’s a reason they hit you without fail after a big feed.
Honey
One spoonful of honey contains glucose, good for stimulating the release of melatonin and shutting off orexin, the chemical known to trigger alertness.