Healthy Foods That Promote Deep Sleep

[COUNTRYBUMPKIN]

Healthy Foods That Promote Deep Sleep By Dr. Ben Kim
>
> If you are following sound advice on how to get a good night's sleep, but
are still
having trouble sleeping soundly, you may want to try eating a bedtime snack that
combines a concentrated dietary source of tryptophan with a healthy
carbohydrate-rich
food.
> Tryptophan is an amino acid that your body cannot make; you must obtain it
from the
foods that you eat. Once tryptophan crosses your blood-brain barrier to gain
access to
your brain, it is used to make a hormone called serotonin.
> Serotonin acts within your body to promote feelings of sleepiness, calm, and
relaxation.
> Without adequate levels of serotonin in your system, you will have a hard
time feeling
sleepy enough to rest soundly. And without adequate levels of tryptophan within
your
brain, you will not be able to produce significant amounts of serotonin.
> The challenge with shuttling tryptophan through to your brain is that it has
to compete
with other amino acids for access to the limited number of channels that line
your blood-
brain barrier. And tryptophan tends to be outnumbered by other amino acids in
natural
foods.
> The key to getting enough tryptophan to your brain to sleep well at night is
to combine
a tryptophan-rich food with a carbohydrate-rich food. This is because ingesting
a
carbohydrate-rich food causes your body to release insulin, which diverts many
of your
other amino acids away from your brain, leaving tryptophan with little
competition to cross
your blood-brain barrier to gain access to your brain.
> Here is a list of some healthy foods that are naturally rich in tryptophan:
>
> Beans
> Whole grains, including rice
> Lentils
> Chickpeas
> Hazelnuts
> Peanuts
> Eggs
> Sunflower seeds
> Sesame seeds
> Miso (fermented soy beans)
> Unsweetened soy milk
> Raw dairy products (if you can tolerate dairy)
> If you combine any of the food listed above with a healthy carbohydrate-rich
food as
an evening snack, you will provide your body with a good opportunity to produce
enough
serotonin to facilitate a good night's rest.
> What follows are some suggestions for healthy meals and snacks that combine
a
tryptophan-rich food with a carbohydrate-rich food:
>
> Rice with miso soup
> Whole grain pita with hummus (add tomato and red onion slices for flavor)
> Whole grain crackers with organic peanut butter (add a touch of honey for
sweetness,
if desired)
> Unsweetened whole grain cereal with soy milk
> Rice with lentils
> Rice, black beans, and guacamole
> Hummus with steamed broccoli
> Eggs with whole grain toast
> Clearly, the possible combinations of tryptophan-rich foods and
carbohydrate-rich
foods are endless. Be creative and enjoy the process of figuring out which
combinations
suit your palate and help you sleep like a bear.

[Edna_E]

Thank you for posting this. This is something I have known just a little bit about and keep not getting a chance to dig into - so you've probably tripled my knowledge!

[HandyMom]

Whole grain pita with hummus (add tomato and red onion slices for flavor)

sounds like a good snack to me! Thanks

[M55FF]

for a deep sleep nothing works better for me than a small glass of wine about a half an hour before bed...
If I'm achy, I will have a dose of generic nyquil, which also helps promote deep sleep. That stuff is great to use now and then... more so when you can't sleep due to allergies and being sore from too much work, which sometimes happens to me.

[COUNTRYBUMPKIN]

Thank you for posting this. This is something I have known just a little bit about and keep not getting a chance to dig into - so you've probably tripled my knowledge!

Hi Edna, So glad this helped you learn more. We never stop learning in life:-)

Lynn

[Michelle]

I came across this thread while searching for something else and thought I'd bump it up for the insomniac kith :insomnia:

I know I'll be using this information. Thanks Lynn

[Edna_E]

I am SLEEPING!!!! Ok, not right this minute, but in stretches of several hours straight through, for 6-9 hours a night for several weeks now except for night before last (2 separate 20 minute-ish stints and that was it). I am feeling like a different person - a better one!

[COUNTRYBUMPKIN]

Edna,

This is wonderful news to wake up to! I am so happy for you!

[frugalandsimple]

If you're a tea lover like me, there's specialty tea that can be bought in a supermarket or health food store that promotes sleep.