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SIt is now widely recognized that leep plays a very important role in our overall health and well-being – alongside our diet, stress management and exercise.
Recently, researchers have learned more about the influence of sleep deprivation on our food choices and the influence of diet on sleep quality. Not sleeping long enough or of poor quality are badociated with increased dietary intake, less healthy diet and weight gain. Lack of sleep also leads to an increase in snack foods and excess food. And that makes us want to eat foods high in fat and carbohydrates – with increased chemical rewards for the brain when we eat these foods.
Essentially, lack of sleep causes your body to find energy-rich foods to keep you awake, making it difficult to resist the urge to eat unhealthy foods. By cons, when we slept well, our appetite hormones are at a normal level. We do not want to eat unhealthy foods – and we can make better food choices.
See also: Learning a language in deep sleep is no longer just science fiction
The science of sleep
Every culture in the world has traditions that foods promote sleep. Foods like milk, chamomile, kiwis and tart cherries are known to work wonders for a good night's sleep. Since the foods we eat affect us daily, it is not surprising that our diet plays such an important role in the quality of our sleep. What we eat also has a significant impact on the function of our organs, the immune system, the production of hormones and the functioning of the brain.
Melatonin is a very important hormone that controls our sleep patterns. Melatonin is produced in the brain and the amount of melatonin you produce, and the effectiveness with which our brain uses it is affected by our diet. One of the biggest influences on our melatonin levels seems to be our consumption of a type of protein called tryptophan. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid – the building block of proteins. Essential amino acids are a group that our body can not form. it can only be obtained through a diet.
Other nutrients that seem useful for sleep include B vitamins and magnesium. Indeed, they help tryptophan to be more available in the body. If your diet lacks tryptophan, B vitamins or magnesium, it is very likely that your production and secretion of melatonin will be affected and your sleep quality will be worse.
Eat to sleep
Of course, dieting with too restrictive diets or diets that expose you to a risk of nutrient deficiency can really affect your sleep. However, by increasing your consumption of foods rich in specific nutrients, it could help improve the quality and duration of sleep.
Dairy products, for example, can help you sleep. Dairy products are not only an excellent source of tryptophan, but they also contain magnesium and B vitamins that help promote tryptophan activity and availability. Nuts, like dairy products, also contain all the nutrients known to promote increased production of melatonin and promote its release.
See also: Risk Factors Identified by a Physician for a Potentially Violent Sleep Disorder
And if you still have trouble sleeping, you may have some meat. Meat of all kinds contains all the essential ingredients for a good night's sleep. So, if you can not fall asleep at night, maybe think about adding lean meat to your diet.
If you're hungry before going to bed, treat yourself to a glbad of semi-skimmed or skimmed milk, a small banana or some nuts – an ideal snack at bedtime – that will help improve your sleep and your will. It should also be noted that it takes about an hour for the tryptophan in the food to reach the brain; do not wait until bedtime for your snack. It is also advisable to have a balanced diet with plenty of tryptophan-rich foods throughout the day to maximize your chances of sleeping well at night.
This article was originally published on The Conversation by Sophie Medlin. Read the original article here.
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