Foods Guaranteed to Promote Deep Sleep

Sometimes getting to sleep easily at night can be difficult but good sleep is incredibly important for your overall health. Ideally, you should be getting between 7 and 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night. A deep sleep could keep your brain and digestion healthy and boost your immune system.

There are many strategies you can use to promote good sleep. The most important of them is to include making changes to your diet. There are many foods that contain naturally occurring substances that bring on sleep.

If you are having problems with falling asleep and staying asleep, you can help this process by eating foods that will help you to sleep at night. Getting into a natural winding down routine before bedtime will help you enter sleep more easily so will some relaxation techniques.

Consuming some foods and avoiding others (like alcohol and caffeine) can help you get a decent night’s sleep. Here are some of the best choices to help you settle down for quality sleep.

Almonds

Almonds have many health benefits and are good comfort food. They have many nutrients like phosphorus, manganese, and riboflavin.  They contain magnesium, which helps to ease you into a deeper and better quality sleep.

Magnesium is also thought to reduce cortisol the stress hormone that can make it difficult for you to get a good rest. They also provide protein. Protein can help you maintain a stable blood sugar level while you’re sleeping.

Coming to healthy snacking, a handful of almonds before bed is a great way to ensure an easy slumber. Almond butter on some delicious all grain bread is a great protein-carb combination that will promote sleep.

Milk

Drinking a glass of warm milk before bed is one of the most common go-to-sleep remedies, and it could be the answer to those sleepless nights. Drinking milk may help, but not for the reason you think.

The common thought is that having milk around bedtime can help you fall asleep because it contains two substances which are known to be related to sleep and relaxation: the amino acid tryptophan and the hormone melatonin. Milk also contains calcium, which plays a direct role in the product of melatonin. Melatonin helps maintain the natural rhythm of your sleep-wake cycle. 

Research has also shown that soy milk will help to fall asleep faster and deeper. Remember when choosing soy milk to look for an organic non-GMO brand.  Warm milk might also help because the routine of drinking a glass of warm milk may elicit memories of mum, home, and childhood and may help us to relax.

Cereal

When kids go for a bowl of cereal before going to bed, they have got it right. A small bowl of low sugar whole grain cereal can set the stage for a good sleep. A carb-protein combo like high grain cereal and milk is a perfect combination to help you sleep.

The carbs in cereal make tryptophan, the amino acid that causes sleepiness, more available to the brain. The protein found in milk is a building block of tryptophan. Some other carb-protein pairings work well too like almond butter on toast.

Oats

While having a big bowl of hot porridge might not be conducive to a restful night, oats are a food rich in vitamins, minerals and amino acids which promote sleep-inducing melatonin. Oats encourage insulin production and naturally raise the blood sugar.

Some perfect ways to eat them before going to bed are oat biscuits with a glass of milk, or an oat-based, muesli cereal with milk.

Eggs

A favorite quick snack after a late night is scrambled eggs on toast, and it is a good choice to help you sleep through the night. Eggs are rich in protein that can help keep your blood sugar levels stable so you can enjoy a deep sleep through the night.

Snack on an egg or two with a carbohydrate-rich food like whole-grain toast. Adding carbs allows the tryptophan from the protein to be more readily available.

Salmon

While a whole oven baked salmon before going to bed might sound like overkill, eating salmon could reduce surges of stress hormones and promote restfulness. A great late night snack that can also tickle the taste buds is a slice or two of smoked salmon on low GI bread. Fatty fish, such as trout, tuna, and mackerel, are incredibly healthy.

They also provide the benefits of omega-3 added to an exceptional vitamin D content. The combination of omega-3 and vitamin D in salmon has the potential to enhance sleep quality by promoting the production of serotonin, which promotes sleep.  Plus, these fish contain vitamin B-6, which is needed to make the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin.

Bananas

A solution if you can’t sleep is to eat a banana. They are high in potassium and great for problems like the restless legs syndrome. The high levels of potassium and magnesium also help prevent nighttime leg cramps.

They contain magnesium, which helps relax muscles and nerves and promotes healthy circulation and digestion. Bananas can be eaten raw or cooked, or in a smoothie. A delicious protein-carb snack is a toasted banana and bacon sandwich, but don’t overdo the bacon, use just a touch to give it flavor.

Bananas are also delicious in a smoothie, and other ingredients can be added for flavors. You can also add sour cherry juice or goji berries, two other sleep-promoting fruits.