Sleeping is one of the most essential things that everyone needs to do in their daily life. Without sleep it is very hard to lead a normal life.
It is a pity for those who suffer from insomnia (lack of sleep) because no matter what they do, they are deprived from their normal sleep.
These people take a lot of medicines to get rid of this problem. For some, the medicines work, for others it doesn’t. There are various factors that can lead a person to be a patient of insomnia.
Day to day stress at work, too much of work pressure, tension all around, family problems, all these lead to anxiety and stress and one fine day you will realize that they have literally taken away the sleep from your eyes.
Sometimes, sleeping pills are just not the right option that you should be looking for. As you deal with your hectic lifestyle, you must be aware of various foods that can help bring sleep.
There are people who think that a lot of exercise and spending time at the gym would make them tired enough that they would feel sleepy automatically.
This is true to some extent, but what about those who do not prefer to workout so much? Moreover, if you stop exercising suddenly, it may have adverse effects.
So, what is the next best thing that would enable you to sleep well without having to exercise or take any complicated medicine? Well, the answer is right in your kitchen. You will find plenty of food that enables you to feel sleepy.
The interesting thing is, you may have eaten these foods without knowing their true values. People are always curious as to whether food can really make them go to sleep. If you are expecting immediate sleep after eating, then that is difficult to achieve.
However, there are foods that would work in your digestive system in a way that would induce sleep in an hour or so. Let’s find out what those foods are:
Cottage cheese
The road to sleep better can always start with cottage cheese. Do not mind if you are growing fat because almost every other food has fat in it. Turn to one cup of this cheese and you are in for a good night’s sleep.
Cottage cheese has plenty of protein especially the slow-digesting casein that helps distribute amino acids in the muscle tissues. This is turn helps you get long hours of sleep.
Since cottage cheese contains amino acid tryptophan, it can let you relax quite a bit before going to sleep. Amino acid tryptophan is known to facilitate the production of serotonin.
It is basically a neurotransmitter that helps in regulating the sleep of a person. Adding cottage cheese to your daily diet can be great if you feel that you are not having proper sleep.
Oatmeal
Oatmeal has a lot of benefits and it is recommended that people should have this thing after returning from work. Most people have oatmeal during breakfast. What they do not know about oatmeal is that it releases serotonin the body.
The carbohydrates present in the oatmeal helps release serotonin. This hormone is very useful in decreasing stress and making the body relax after a stressful day.
It would ensure that you have a calmer mind and this would get you to sleep easily. You can have half an apple with cinnamon and skimmed milk to have a better effect.
Peanut butter or peanuts
Natural peanut butter and peanuts are probably one of the first choices of people who want to have sound sleep. Almost all nuts are considered good for sleep, but peanuts are recommended the most.
They are rich in niacin nutrient that helps in increasing serotonin release in your system. Although, peanuts are reported to have a slightly higher content of calories and fat, but that may not be something you would want to take into consideration especially when it is helping you sleep so easily.
Those who are obsessed with their body weight can have a small portion of peanut butter or just a handful of peanuts everyday. Eating a small portion of peanut butter and peanuts would not affect your weight and would be a great addition to your diet.
Try having a whole grain toast along with peanut butter for best results. If you prefer to have peanuts, you can have them just before dinner.
Grapes
People have a notion that fruits are meant to digest the food that we eat. That is why it is often seen that people are eating fruits right after lunch. But, there are fruits that can help you fall into deep sleep. One of those fruits is grapes.
In fact, when effectiveness is concerned, grapes are strongly recommended for people who have trouble sleeping. This fruit have the ability to regulate the sleep hormone named melatonin. Eating grapes is not that big a deal. You can add them to a bowl of yogurt or just have them raw.
They are sweet and tastes really nice. Before going to bed, a small bowl of yogurt along with grapes can release stress to a great extent and bring sleep quite easily. It has been tried and tested by many and almost every one of those people has had positive results.
Nut
just when you thought that nuts are making you grow fat, you came to know that they can help you get some sleep.
Many researches has proven that nuts like almond have a high percentage of tryptophan that can help in the production of melatonin and serotonin, the two most important sleep inducing hormones.
Not only almonds, but also walnuts are a very rich source of tryptophan. They also contain melatonin as well. It would be better to consume more of walnuts, but then again, they are more expensive amongst all the nuts.
Ahead of these two is pistachio nuts. It has a very high percentage of Vitamin B6. It produces a lot of melatonin and serotonin that can make you drowsy quickly.
Green leafy vegetables
Vegetables have always been useful, no matter what the purpose is. If you are looking to eat vegetables that would help you get a sound sleep, then you should ideally be searching for spinach and kale.
These are filled with calcium and tryptophan that would again manufacture melatonin and serotonin. That is why most doctors advise to have salad after dinner. Spinach can be a part of any salad. When you have a full plate of salad, you will benefit from the sedative nature of lactucarium.
Just like opium has the ability to make you drowsy quickly, similarly lactucarium can affect the brain like opium. Search for various kale recipes on the internet and try preparing one for your dinner.
Turkey
Thanksgiving is one time of the year when you have a wholesome portion of turkey. Have you ever noticed that after a Thanksgiving dinner you tend to feel very sleepy? This is because of the turkey that you had just eaten.
Research has it that turkeys have a high quantity of tryptophan and that is why it is considered to be one of the best sleep inducers. For better results, you can have a couple of slices of turkey in between whole wheat bread.
If you can add peanut butter to the whole thing, there is nothing like it. Not only will it be tasty, but you may feel sleepy while having the sandwich. In addition to inducing sleep, turkey can also relieve you from stress.
Miso soup
If you thought that miso soup is just another started before a main course, then you are well mistaken. This soup is an excellent choice if you are having trouble to sleep at night.
One of the main reasons why miso soup is so highly regarded by doctors is because it is filled with amino acids that can digest proteins easily and build melatonin. Along with melatonin, it also has soy proteins that are known to improve your sleep.
Eggs
People thought that eggs are not good because it affects uric acid and makes you fat. What people do not know or fail to realize is that eggs are excellent in sleep induction. They have a high quantity of nutrition that makes you sleep.
Of course, you should not eat more than two eggs per day. But not eating eggs would not be a good idea because it has lots of benefits. The white portion of an egg contains a high percentage of proteins.
Dark chocolate
This would definitely raise an eyebrow or two. Chocolates, especially dark ones are very tasty and preferred by almost everyone. Whether you want to lose weight or not, when you see dark chocolates, it is hard to resist.
For those who are concerned about their weight, they can choose not to have milk chocolates. Instead, they can have proper dark chocolates.
It might taste a bit bitter, but it would be more effective. Dark chocolates are known to contain serotonin that can keep your mind and body relaxed.
Hummus
Found in the Middle East, this is a power house of tryptophan. If you wake up at midnight and find yourself hungry, just munch on some hummus. You will again find yourself in bed snoring and having a sound sleep.
Eating hummus three times a day can be enough. Depending on your condition, you can eat five times a day as well. It would be wise not to take hummus during the first half of the day.
This is the time when you normally work. You can always start having it once you are back home or whenever you want to have some snack.
Tart cherry juice
This is a unique juice that can help you fall asleep. There are people who do not like the concept of cherries, but once they come across tart cherry juice, their opinion changes completely.
According to doctors and scientists, the juice extracted from tart jerry contains melatonin. As you know, melatonin has the ability to control a person’s sleeping conditions.
Tart cherry juice also produces serotonin and together with melatonin, it becomes an awesome sleeping solution. A study was done on adults who suffered from severe insomnia whether tart cherry juice was effective or not.
They were told to drink a cup of juice twice on a daily basis. After a week it was seen that their insomnia had lessened to a great extent. Scientists have also said that it is better to have juice instead of pills that contain tart cherry extracts.
Lettuce
This is often as an important component in a diet because of its multiple benefits. One of the many benefits that lettuce has is it helps people fall asleep in quicktime.
Lactucarium, which has sedative properties, is found in lettuce and it works in the brain very effectively. You will find yourself completely relaxed after having lettuce.
Adding spinach and kale to lettuce would help your cause because these three make a great combination to induce sleep in a person. Lettuce can easily be used in salads along with spinach. You can also surf the internet to find more recipes of lettuce.
Pretzels
These are staple ballpark snacks that have the ability to make a person go to bed and have a sound sleep. Most importantly, these are not rich in calories and would not increase your fat.
Consuming at least 23 grams of pretzels is enough to make you sleepy. It contains a good percentage of magnesium that can bring in sleep and not leave you awake for a long time.
Jasmine rice
Research shows that jasmine rice boosts serotonin and tryptophan. Instead of eating normal rice, you can go for jasmine rice if you are having issues in sleeping comfortably.
A bowl of jasmine rice for dinner will be perfect to have a long and sound sleep. This rice is the most effective amongst all the other grain rice when it comes to sleeping purposes.
