“Invest in your sleep, because it pays the highest dividends in your life.”
– Eat Move Sleep
I’d like to emphasise the importance of giving utmost value to your sleep. By making quality sleep a priority, you allow yourself to function at your best, both mentally and physically.
As Health Coaches, we know that eating a well-balanced diet promotes greater health and that both when and what we eat affects how we feel and how we sleep.
The same way foods can give us energy throughout the day, foods can assist with our sleep.
Certain nutrients, enzymes, and amino acids in foods can aid sleep. Here is a list of nutrients and foods beneficial for you:
TRYPTOPHAN: is an essential dietary amino acid that the body uses to produce serotonin and melatonin, chemicals that help to regulate sleep.
Found in: Turkey and lean meat, dairy products, quinoa, bananas
MELATONIN: Your body produces melatonin, but you can also find it in various foods:
Tart cherry, eggs, rice, barley and oats, nuts, kiwi, dairy products, Honey - helps the body produce melatonin.
(Fun fact: Milk melatonin concentrations have been found to be highest when cows are milked at night.)
OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS help the body regulate sleep due to their effect on the regulation of serotonin.
Found in: Salmon, trout, tuna
GABA* has stress-reducing, and sleep enhancing effects.
Found in: brown rice, passionflower tea, raw spinach, potato, broccoli
MAGNESIUM supports healthy melatonin synthesis in the brain and promotes muscular relaxation.
Found in: Almonds, quinoa, lettuce, spinach, and kale, bananas
TEAS: Chamomile , lavender, hibiscus, etc.
*(Gamma-aminobutyric acid is an inhibitory neurotransmitter)
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