Get a Good Night's Rest
Food can help in the quest for a good night’s sleep. Some insomnia
sufferers wake at night because their blood sugar drops too low.
Adequate protein and healthy fat intake can help stabilize blood sugar
through the night, and allow the liver to let out stored sugar
molecules as needed for a good night’s sleep. Foods can also support
the healthy production of brain neurotransmitters and create calming
results in the body.
Here are the most common sleep scenarios and some of our favorite food solutions for sleep.
Dandelion
Solves With Problem: Hormonal Issues With Sleep Problems
Dark green leafy vegetables have more nutrients than we will
probably ever completely understand. While dandelion is not
traditionally known as a sleep-inducing food, we have found using the
liver-cleansing properties of dandelion to be a valuable aid in helping
sleep.
A healthy liver will balance blood sugar. Blood sugar
fluctuations and drops are a major factor in insomnia and waking at
night. Hormonal issues, especially in perimenopause and post-menopause
can also stop a woman from obtaining a good night’s sleep. In Chinese
medicine, foods like dandelion can help balance the liver and nourish
the yin, which ultimately strengthens the function of the blood, fluids
and hormonal balance.
We like our dandelion as part of a good
dinner. We often steam or blanch the dandelion first, then sauté with
garlic and organic extra virgin olive oil.
Scottish Oatmeal
Solves This Problem: Nervous Exhaustion and Sleeplessness
A favorite breakfast food, oatmeal is really a cereal grain made
from the herb Avena sativa. Avena is known in traditional herbal
medicine as a calming plant that is nutritious for a frazzled nervous
system. We often recommend regular intake of oatmeal to help our
patients’ bodies cope with long-term stressors more effectively.
Oats
contain melatonin and complex carbohydrates that can help more
tryptophan get into the brain to help you sleep. It also contains
vitamin B6, a vitamin which is a co-factor that helps more serotonin
get produced in the brain as well.
While you might think of
oatmeal only as a breakfast food, it also is a smart choice for a
bedtime snack. The Scottish recommend a bowl of oatmeal in the evening
to get you feeling nice and sleepy.
Pulque
Solves This Problem: Occasional Trouble Winding Down to Fall Asleep
Still relatively unfamiliar to most of us, pulque is an
thousand-year-old native Mexican milk-colored alcoholic beverage made
from the fermented sap of the maguey plant (a type of agave), and it is
high in melatonin. This drink is a bit more frothy and less alcoholic
than its modern beer counterpart. While it is an age-old drink, it is
becoming quite trendy these days.
Due to its melatonin content
and alcohol content, it functions as a relaxant that can help someone
unwind in the evening and prepare for sleep. As such, it is best to
have after dinner. It should not be used by anyone with a history or
tendency for alcoholism and should not be ingested by minors or
pregnant women. We also do not recommend it as a daily solution – just
an occasional one.
Pumpkin Seed Powder
Solves This Problem: Trouble Staying Asleep
Pumpkin seeds and the powder from pumpkin seeds have relatively high
amounts of the amino acid tryptophan. Tryptophan is the amino acid the
body uses to make the feel-good and relaxation neurotransmitter
serotonin. Pumpkin seeds also contain high amounts of zinc, which can
help the brain convert tryptophan into serotonin. Serotonin levels are
typically low in people who cannot stay asleep and wake throughout the
night.
It is best to take about 1 cup of seeds or ½ cup of the
powder with applesauce or another healthy carbohydrate; the
carbohydrate allows the tryptophan to get into the brain in higher
amounts.
Montmorency Tart Cherries
Solves This Problem: Trouble Falling Asleep
The Montmorency cherry is a type of sour cherry. The color is not as
dark as the cherries we typically see in the stores. These cherries are
great because they have about 6 times the amount of melatonin than a
regular cherry. If you can find a cherry juice concentrate, this will
also increase the concentration of melatonin even more.
Melatonin
is a hormone produced in your brain’s pineal gland. When it gets dark
outside, your eyes sense the lighting change and starts making this
hormone, which communicates to your body that it is time to prepare to
sleep. Melatonin helps maintain your daily body rhythms, and is an
important antioxidant in the body known to fight cancer. In fact, low
amounts are shown to increase risk of cancer.
You can find these
special cherries in some fine food stores when they are in season.
Sometimes they can be found in the frozen section, or look for a
Montmorency cherry juice concentrate.