Are you one of the many people who find it difficult to get a good night’s sleep? If you answered yes, the effects of this are not only felt the next day in levels of alertness but may be influencing other aspects of your life and health in negative ways.
If you are consistently getting six hours or less of sleep this can cause havoc to your health and put you at greater risk of chronic diseases such as obesity. On top of this, lack of sleep puts your hunger hormones out of balance and can cause you to make less optimal food choices throughout the day.
The good news is there is hope at hand. Your nutrition choices can help you to put a good night’s sleep back in your favor. Studies suggest that an overall balanced diet can promote a good night’s sleep. Including meals and snacks with adequate protein, fats and carbohydrates are the first step.
Firstly, looking deeper into carbohydrates, it is recommended to include carbohydrates which have a low glycemic index and meals with a low glycemic load. This means that these carbohydrates release sugar into your blood more slowly. Foods with more fibre will have a lower glycemic index and together in a meal create a lower glycemic load. Foods which have a lower glycemic index and are good choices to lower the glycemic load of a meal or snack can include nuts, seeds, wholegrains, legumes and beans, fruit, and vegetables.
These types of foods are not only low in glycemic index but contain prebiotic fibre or the food for the health promoting microbes in your gut. When your microbes eat the fuel sources provided, they create messages such as short chain fatty acids, neurotransmitters, and secondary bile acids which have effects on the functioning and health of your body. This includes metabolites and compounds which impact your sleep including sleep promoting hormones such as melatonin and gamma-aminobutyric acid. Also, compounds and metabolites which help to keep you awake and alert such as cortisol, epinephrine, dopamine, orexin, serotonin, histamine, and acetylcholine.
When looking specifically at protein, including foods which are rich in an amino acid called tryptophan is recommended. Tryptophan is an amino acid which is a precursor to making melatonin. Melatonin has a sleep promoting effect.
Good sources of foods which have a high amount of tryptophan include:
- Milk
- Cheese
- Eggs
- Seafood
- Peanuts
- Soy and tofu
- Sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds
- Turkey
A sleep promoting fat to include in your diet is omega-3 fat. This essential, polyunsaturated fat may promote a good night’s sleep by having a positive effect on the secretion of serotonin. Seafood contains the main fat used by your brain called eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). This fat is essential for your brain to function optimally. It makes sense that this fat would support sleep. For many health reasons including sleep quality it is recommended to include one hundred grams of cooked seafood two to three times a week.
Before heading to the nearest fast-food outlet for dinner it is good to mention that foods which are higher in saturated fat and refined carbohydrates and low in fibre do not support a good sleep. This is one of the many reasons that the ‘sometimes foods’ are best kept as an occasional treat rather than a daily staple.
Be mindful of the amount and time when you include extra drugs in your day. You may experience sleepiness when you sip on your alcoholic drink of choice. While it is true that alcohol may have this effect of making you drowsy and want to sleep however the quality of this sleep is low.
If you are a lover of coffee or caffeine drinks, be mindful that this drug has a half-life of around four to six hours. Half-life is when half the amount of the caffeine you have ingested is still running through your system.
Take home message: There are many strategies you can use to help improve your sleep quality. Your diet is one which may be the missing link to getting the extra hours of sleep you have been searching for.
References:
- Cooper CB, Neufeld EV, Dolezal BA, Martin JL. Sleep deprivation and obesity in adults: a brief narrative review. BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2018 Oct 4;4(1):e000392. doi: 10.1136/bmjsem-2018-000392. PMID: 30364557; PMCID: PMC6196958.
- Sejbuk M, Mirończuk-Chodakowska I, Witkowska AM. Sleep Quality: A Narrative Review on Nutrition, Stimulants, and Physical Activity as Important Factors. Nutrients. 2022; 14(9):1912. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14091912
- Tanaka, E.; Yatsuya, H.; Uemura, M.; Murata, C.; Otsuka, R.; Toyoshima, H.; Tamakoshi, K.; Sasaki, S.; Kawaguchi, L.; Aoyama, A. Associations of protein, fat, and carbohydrate intakes with insomnia symptoms among middle-aged Japanese workers. J. Epidemiol. 2013, 23, 132–138.
- Bravo, R.; Matito, S.; Cubero, J.; Paredes, S.D.; Franco, L.; Rivero, M.; Rodríguez, A.B.; Barriga, C. Tryptophan-enriched cereal intake improves nocturnal sleep, melatonin, serotonin, and total antioxidant capacity levels and mood in elderly humans. AGE 2012, 35, 1277–1285
- Lavialle M.; Champeil-Potokar, G.; Alessandri, J.M.; Balasse, L.; Guesnet, P.; Papillon, C.; Pévet, P.; Vancassel, S.; Vivien-Roels, B.; Denis, I. An (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acid–deficient diet disturbs daily locomotor activity, melatonin rhythm, and striatal dopamine in syrian hamsters. J. Nutr. 2008, 138, 1719–1724.
