Are you finding it tough to get a good night’s sleep this summer? The heat is surely there to blame but your food habit also has a good say in that.
According to scientists and nutritionists what you eat in your last meal before going to bed has a high impact on your sleep quality and when the weather is already hot and humid during the summer days getting the right diner is vital to ensure that you get a good night’s sleep.
Food also has a major role to play in regulating the body heat and when it is already hot outside you should not indulge in any food that can make you feel hot from inside as well, because that is sure to disrupt your sleep at night.
While the food you had in your last meal before going to bed has maximum impact on your sleep quality, the food you take throughout the day and particularly after sundown also affects your sleep. So, read on to know the best and worst foods that you can have this summer to ensure a good sleep at night.
Best foods for night sleep in summer
Oatmeal
Oatmeal is full of complex carbohydrates which take too much time to break down. This process makes sure the sugar levels don’t spike up and stays normal. You can enjoy having sweet dreams provided you had a small bowl of oatmeal a few hours before going to bed.
Banana
You already know that banana is good for your health in every way and now we are telling you that it is great for a good night’s sleep as well. The potassium content in banana helps in relieving stress and the magnesium helps in relaxing the muscles.
The carbs in banana also work as sleep inducer. Banana is digested easily and one banana will never make you feel heavy or burden your digestive system. So, if the increasing temperature is stealing your good night’s sleep include a banana in your daily dinner this summer.
Milk
Having a glass of milk before going to sleep at night has been an age old custom in a tropical country like India. There are enough scientific reasons to back the benefits of consumption of milk in dinner. Milk can be helpful for a good night’s sleep in summer too.
Milk contains an amino acid named tryptophan which works as the precursor of serotonin. Serotonin is well known as the feel-good hormone that can help you to relax and doze off comfortably. Milk is also easy digestible and can help your body to stay cool from inside.
Jasmine rice
Any type of White Rice is a direct source of carbohydrate and hence it is often criticized by the weight watchers. However, white rice is not at all heavy on your stomach, unless you eat it in excess.
White rice digests easily and keeps the body cooler from inside. The carbohydrate present in it also helps in inducing sleep. Studies have found, amongst all the types of white rice, Jasmine rice is most effective to induce sleep.
So, if summer time heat is keeping you awake at night, including jasmine rice in your dinner in moderate quantity, instead of chapattis can actually help with your sleep problem.
Vegetable smoothies
You might not like the taste of the vegetable smoothies but your body will surely thank you for it and if you are having problems with sleeping at night during summer, vegetable smoothies can be actually helpful.
Instead of having a vegetable curry in dinner which is sure to be mixed with oil and spices, banking on vegetable smoothies can be really helpful. The smoothies will fill your stomach and give you the full nutrition of the vegetables.
Moreover, being high in water and fiber content they will also help in keeping your body temperature low from inside that is sure to aid in your sleep quality during these hot and humid summer days.
Almonds
If you are having problem to sleep at night indulging on a few peeled almonds 1-2 hours before going to bed can be effective. Almonds are rich in tryptophan and magnesium. These elements help in reducing muscle stress as well as over functioning of the nerves, helping one to feel relaxed and doze off.
Almonds are good for the body and also the heart. So, in order to fight your sleeping problem, including almonds in your dinner can be an effective option.
Watermelon juice
Watermelon juice is filled with vitamins and minerals that can be most helpful to keep your digestive system working smoothly. Being high in water content it also helps in fighting dehydration and keeps your body cool from inside.
If you drink a glass of watermelon juice at the end of your dinner every night instead of a sweet dish, it will not only give you better health benefits but will also help you to get proper sleep in the night.
Watermelon juice is also ideal for drinking throughout the day during summer in order to keep dehydration at bay, which can seriously affect the quality of sleep making one feel restless.
Whole wheat cereal
Whole wheat cereals can be great for your dinner particularly during the summer days. These cereals are easy to digest and they help in inducing sleep.
Having a bowl of oats with added milk and peeled almonds can be a great item for dinner that will help you heavily in getting a good night’s’ sleep no matter how high the mercury soars.
Worst foods for night sleep in summer
The worst foods for getting a good night’s sleep in summer include,
Spicy food
Spicy food is relatively known among people to cause indigestion problem, so if you have it as dinner then there are hardly any chances that you can sleep. However Spicy Food if consumed makes the person take longer time to fall asleep.
Wine and alcoholic drinks
Alcoholic drinks might seem like making you relax and fall asleep quickly, but in reality they work nothing less than a sleep stealer particularly when it is summer and you are living in a tropical country.
Every alcoholic drink including even the best quality grape wines can seriously disturb your sleep and work as the main reason of waking up many times during the night. Alcohol also dehydrates the body which can cause serious restlessness while sleeping during summer nights.
So, if you are concerned about your sleep quality on summer nights stay away from every type of alcoholic drinks not only during the night but also during the day.
Meat and chicken dishes
Relishing a rich non-veg dish is certainly not the right thing during the summer. The animal proteins are not easy to digest for your body and by adding oils and spices to them we make the task even more difficult for the digestive system.
These high end animal proteins also produce a lot of heat upon digestion which can make your body warm from inside when the temperature outside is already soaring high.
If you are keen to have non-veg dishes, it is better to opt for fishes and try to have them during the day time instead.
Coffee
Though most of the health conscious people try to stay away from hot beverages like coffee during the summer days, there are still many of us who cannot make it without a few cups of coffee.
If you are having a problem to sleep at the night in these summer days, let us tell you that it is your love for coffee that is keeping you awake. Coffee being a hot beverage naturally does not help to feel you cooler in hot summer.
Moreover, the caffeine present in coffee disrupts your sleep quality heavily. In order to ensure a better sleep during summer nights discard coffee completely for the time, at least after sun down.
Carbonated soft drinks
Just like coffee, carbonated soft drinks can also steal your sleep. While these drinks might seem like a relaxing chilled beverage to have at night after dinner, in reality, they can work as sleep stealer.
The carbonated beverages do not go well on the stomach. Moreover, these beverages always come with caffeine content which certainly interferes with your sleep.
If you cannot make it without soft drinks during the summer, have it only during the day time and pick one that has minimum caffeine content.
Dark chocolate
Yes, this otherwise healthy food can also work as your sleep stealer. The cocoa present in dark chocolate makes your nerves alert and can be hindering with your sleep quality.
So, do not plan to devour a dark chocolate bar before going to bed on summer nights. However, you can have it in the morning.
Green tea
Green tea is good for your health and your mind but not for your sleep. Drinking any hot beverages in summer can make you feel even more hot from inside but still you can have green tea during the day time even in summer without causing any harm to your system.
Just do not plan to have a cup of green tea before going to bed during summer days as it will surely disrupt your sleep.
Hard cheese
Hard cheese is the other food that you should avoid after sun set in order to get a good sleep at night. Hard cheese particularly contains a good amount of tyramine, which is an amino acid that increases alertness.
You really need not to feel alert during the night to get a good sleep. So, keep hard cheese away from your dinner table.
Ice creams
You might actually think indulging in a tub of ice cream before going to sleep during summer nights is the sure shot way to fight the heat and to feel cooler from inside. However, in reality, the thing works in the opposite way.
Ice creams are high fatty foods that can seriously meddle with your digestive system and can disrupt your sleep during the summer nights. So, have all the ice cream you want during the day but not before going to sleep.
Important note
During summer, in order to ensure a good sleep at night, it is important that you take your last meal at least 2 hours before going to bed.
The sleeping posture is not supportive of digestion and if you go to bed right after having a meal your chance of having a disrupted sleep is much higher. Also make sure that you do not overeat during your dinner which can prevent you from getting a good sleep.
