What to eat (and what to avoid) to sleep well

03/29/2016

This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.

 

 

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Warm milk helps you fall asleep? And cheese, causes nightmares? Know what is myth and what is true. 

What can we do to sleep better? (Photo: Jason Lee / Reuters)

One in three people suffer from insomnia at some point in life, and most have less trouble sleeping from time to time.

The trouble falling asleep or staying asleep - or both - is due to several factors, including stress, worries and ingested food item that is subject to a number of issues:

Why do some drinks and food give you sleep while others awaken you? It is true that eating weight gives nightmares? Or warm milk helps you sleep?

Separate fiction from facts to see if some changes in the diet can lead to a good nights sleep.

Carbohydrates x proteins

What should we eat to sleep well: carbohydrates or protein? The answer, apparently, is: both.

The key is something called tryptophan, an amino acid that is the precursor of serotonin and melatonin, the sleep-inducing chemical in the brain.

Tryptophan is present in small amounts in almost all protein foods and in higher amounts into yogurt, milk, oats, bananas, dates, chicken, egg and corn.

In the tryptophan to take effect, it must cross the blood-brain barrier (its security system). To achieve this, it has to compete with other amino acids.

According to some studies, combine foods rich in tryptophan with carbohydrates gives an advantage to this amino acid.

Carbohydrates stimulate the release of insulin, which helps draw other amino acids in blood flow, giving more chances to tryptophan to reach the brain.

We still have to investigate further, and it is important to take into account that the amount of tryptophan in foods is relatively small and, therefore, perhaps it has a modest effect.

The truth about the drinks sleep

Herbs tea

Chamomile tea is known as a good remedy for problems sleeping. Research indicates that it increases the level of glycine, a muscle relaxant, in the body.

The valerian, in turn, used to be prescribed against insomnia in ancient Rome. The belief was that the drink reduced the time taken to sleep and improved the quality of sleep. Passionflower has also demonstrated its ability to improve it.

It is believed that both increase the levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the brain, a substance that helps regulate nerve cells and decrease anxiety.

Warm milk

The milk contains melatonin, a hormone that helps to create the desire to stay asleep, but has not yet been confirmed to have a significant impact on the body's melatonin levels.

The drink also contains tryptophan, as we mentioned before.

If you add warm milk to your cereal, will receive the benefits of this sleep inducer, you will have a mix of protein and carbohydrates that will lead quickly to the brain.

Chocolate quenteO hot chocolate is a soothing drink that, in some places, is traditionally taken before bedtime.

But it contains caffeine which is a stimulant, although the amounts vary depending on the make.

If you have difficulties to keep sleeping, consider replacing the chocolate by one of teas mentioned above or a drink with malt.

Water

If you can not sleep well all night because they wake up with thirst or desire to go to the bathroom, be sure to drink enough fluids during the day to stay hydrated throughout the night.

The European Food Safety Authority advises that women take 1.6 liters per day and men, two liters.

The last cup

A tacinha some liquor from time to time will not do much harm to your health, but it can not become a habit, it can cause serious problems - including insomnia.

Alcohol helps us to continue sleeping, but makes us to spend less time in the stage of rapid eye movement sleep (REM), which is the most satisfactory, and wake up at night.

When should you eat?

Set your internal clock

Recent research shows that the time of day you eat can affect your sleep.

We all have an internal clock that tracks the time of day and, by all appearances a "food clock" that monitors mealtimes.

One study indicates that when a rat eats at irregular hours, the clock of your body desajusta.

When the amount of food is limited, the food clock overrides the body, keeping awake mouse until you locate some food.

Studies with rats are not necessarily indicative of what happens to humans, but it is interesting to note that feeding patterns can affect your sleep.

have routine

Sleep is a routine, then have regular feeding patterns will make it easier to stand overnight.

It's a good idea dinner four hours before bedtime and establish a ritual of taking herbal tea before going to sleep.

You are a person of the day or night?

Research indicates that a person be an early riser or night is determined by its chronotype.

The hours of the day that you eat vary according to your chronotype: early bird usually eat breakfast before half an hour after waking up, while the night people tend to skip breakfast and eat late at night.

What food and drink steal our sleep?

Cheese

The idea that the cheese gives nightmares accompanies some cultures since at least the 17th century but it makes sense?

It has been said that the large amount of tyramine that is in the food could be linked to dreams.

The tyramine affects the release of noradrenaline, produced in the region of the brain responsible for REM sleep - that is related to dreams.

But many other foods contain similar levels of tyramine and are not seen as tyrants. Therefore, there seems no direct link between eating cheese and nightmares.

Coffee

Caffeine may interfere with the sleeping process or prevent deep asleep.

We all have different levels of tolerance to caffeine, but if you are feeling trouble sleeping, avoid taking coffee at night and maybe even later.

Recent research indicates that coffee may also have an impact on sleep to slow down your biological clock.

One study showed that have a double espresso three hours before bedtime delayed production of melatonin for about 40 minutes.

Sugar

A recent study indicates that a diet high in sugar is not good for sleeping.

In research, sugar made participants wake up during the night.

There are few studies on the effects of sugar on the quality of sleep, but if you eat many foods or sugary drinks before bedtime will likely experience an energy input which is not ideal for this moment.

Alcohol

After a night of drinking, it's probably easier to sleep. The bad news is that alcohol disrupts the patterns and cycles that occur while we sleep.

Alcohol causes sleep but worse sleep quality (Photo: Juan Medina / Reuters)

Throughout a good night's sleep, the person usually has between six and seven MOR cycles. After a night of drinks, however, will have only one or two.

chili

It is believed that spicy food causes indigestion and increase the temperature of your body, and the combination of both impair sleep.

Research indicates that a drop in body temperature triggers the feeling that it's time to go to bed. In the study, participants who put spicy sauces in food took longer to fall asleep and slept less than normal.

It was noticed that, on nights when they ate condiments, his body temperature was high during the first cycle of sleep.

Interestingly, hot baths can help you sleep because your body temperature drops quickly after them.

 

Source: Welfare

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This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.