7 food items to enhance sleep quality

Like eating nutritious food, drinking water, and exercising regularly, getting quality sleep is an important component of overall health.

While sleeping, the body performs a number of repairing and maintaining processes that affect nearly every part of the body. As a result, a good night’s sleep, or a lack of sleep, can impact the body both mentally and physically.

Restorative theories of sleep suggest that sleep restores and repairs the body, making people feel refreshed in the morning.

Recent studies also reveal that sleep can affect the efficiency of vaccinations. Twery described research showing that well-rested people who received the flu vaccine developed stronger protection against the illness. 

It is advised that fixing sleep timings, taking bath before going to bed and avoiding all types of gadgets like mobile, television, computer screen helps to get a good night’s sleep. It is essential that we get at least 7 hours of good quality sleep daily to reap the maximum benefits from it.

Apart from the above mentioned techniques, consuming a well balanced diet, good physical activity also help in getting a good night’s sleep. There are a number of foods that can aid in stimulating sleep.

1. Milk – milk is a go-to remedy and an age old remedy to stimulate sleep. Milk contains amino acid tryptophan which is a precursor for melatonin synthesis. Melatonin helps to regulate sleep and wake up cycles. So if you are unable to fall asleep, try drinking a glass of warm turmeric milk before going to bed.

1. Banana – if you are consuming a diet which is very deficient in carbohydrates then you might find it difficult to fall asleep. Eating bananas help to provide the necessary carbs and also magnesium, a mineral that is known to play a vital role in sleep cycles. 

1. Chamomile tea – Unable to sleep due to stress? Chamomile tea to the rescue. Chamomile has a calming effect on the nerves and helps to destress. A cup of warm chamomile tea without any sweetener can prepare the body to get into that sleep mode.

1. Kiwi fruit – Some research has found that eating kiwi can improve sleep. In a study, people who ate two kiwis one hour before bedtime found that they fell asleep faster, slept more, and had better sleep quality.

1. Fatty fish – research has found that fatty fish help to improve sleep. Researchers believe that fatty fish may help sleep by providing a healthy dose of vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids, which are involved in the body’s regulation of serotonin. So if you have a vitamin D deficiency, there are chances that it is interfering with your sleep. Including foods rich in vitamin D and getting sufficient sunlight exposure can address the mild to moderate deficiencies.

1. Nuts like almonds, walnuts, pistachios, and cashews are often considered to be a good food for sleep. Though the exact amounts can vary, nuts contain melatonin as well as essential minerals like magnesium and zinc that are essential to a range of bodily processes. In a clinical trial using supplements, it was found that a combination of melatonin, magnesium, and zinc helped older adults with insomnia to sleep better.

1. Prunes – The nutrients in dried plums — vitamin B6, calcium, and magnesium, to name a few — help make melatonin, the hormone that regulates sleep.

Including one or more of the food items mentioned above can aid in good quality sleep making you feel energetic and refreshed enough to complete your day’s work!