Ana Maria Sleeping enough doesn’t just help you feel refreshed, it can also help you control how much you eat.
Two hormones that help regulate hunger—ghrelin and leptin—are affected by sleep: Ghrelin stimulates appetite, while leptin decreases it. When the body is sleep-deprived, the level of ghrelin spikes, while the level of leptin falls, leading to an increase in hunger. (Source:National Sleep Foundation)
Sleep deprivation is often linked to overeating, which leads to weight gain. To prevent overeating, create a healthy sleep routine: go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day of the week, and give yourself enough time in bed to get seven to nine hours of sleep.
In order to improve your sleep quality, there are various factors that need to be taken into consideration, one of them being what you choose to eat and drink during the day. Certain foods and drinks can actually help you fall asleep faster and sleep better.
Here’s what you need to keep in mind
– Skip the white bread, refined pasta, and sugary, baked goods, which may reduce serotonin levels and contribute to insomnia.
– While coffee and alcohol are often blamed for their negative impact on sleep, there’s another drink that has been linked with poor sleep: soda.
– Caffeine is a stimulant that blocks chemicals in the brain that make you feel sleepy, and it can temporarily help you to feel more alert. While it’s safe in moderation, it can stay in your bloodstream for about six hours, so avoid drinking it close to bedtime.
– Sugar-sweetened drinks like soda are the number one source of sugar in the American diet, making up nearly half of the added sugars that Americans consume. A 20-ounce bottle of regular cola packs about 240 calories from sugar. Yet, paradoxically, even without containing any calories, diet soda can contribute to weight gain, too. That’s bad news for sleep quality, since obesity raises the risk of sleep apnea and more sleep loss, creating a vicious cycle. (Source: National Sleep Foundation)
– Hydration also plays a critical role for your sleep quality. Dehydration causes your mouth and nasal passages to become dry, which leads to snoring, parched throat, nocturnal leg cramps and fragmented sleep that affect your energy level and alertness the next morning.
Now that you know what you should pay attention to, here are some foods that can have a calming effect on the brain and body:
– Foods high in lean protein, such as like fish, turkey, chicken and low-fat cheese, pack tryptophan can increase serotonin levels. Serotonin is a brain chemical and low levels of it can contribute to insomnia. Tryptophan is an amino acid that increases serotonin levels to help you feel sleepy and relaxed.
– Almonds and walnuts contain melatonin, which is a hormone that helps to regulate your sleep. Eating them can increase the level of melatonin, helping you sleep better. Eating nuts can also boost serotonin levels.
– Certain fruits, such as bananas, pineapple, oranges, kiwis, berries, plums and raisins, that contain melatonin may help you fall asleep faster and wake up less often during the night.
– Some herbs, such as sage and basil, contain chemicals which can improve sleep quality by easing stress that keeps you up at night.
– Try adding a nightly cup of tea, such as peppermint, ginger or chamomile to you nighttime ritual in order to relax and get in the mood for sleep. If you aren’t necessarily a fan of tea, a glass of warm milk can work just as well (if you aren’t lactose intolerant).
– Spread your fluid intake throughout the day to avoid multiple nighttime bathroom trips and maximize you sleep quality.
References
National Sleep Foundation – Foods for a Good Night’s Sleep
National Sleep Foundation – Food and Drink That Promote a Good Night’s Sleep
National Sleep Foundation – The Connection Between Hydration and Sleep
National Sleep Foundation – The Connection Between Sleep and Overeating
National Sleep Foundation – Why Soda Impacts Your Sleep
