Healthy Eating for Perfect Sleep Hygiene

Thursday 3rd March 2011

Getting into the routine of consistent sleep is important in the pursuit of living a healthy and balanced lifestyle. Understanding the need to maintain a healthy diet and realising the effect the food you eat has on your sleep quality and quantity, is necessary in maintaining sleep hygiene. What you eat and when you eat can influence your sleep hygiene, and having the knowledge of which substances benefit your sleep and are detrimental allows you to hone your diet to maximise the quality of sleep you get. Sleep should never be discredited, as it is a powerful healing process which allows you to function effectively throughout the day.

Eating healthily and exercising regularly all benefit the sleep you get, but also depend on how healthy a sleep routine you keep. If you consistently neglect your sleep hygiene, you will not have the energy to exercise regularly and consequently need to eat more to gain the energy to function effectively. Here are some tips to combine a healthy diet with a structured sleep routine.

Knowing the time to eat

If you eat a large meal too close to the time you go to bed, you will struggle to relax and go to sleep. When you are sleeping, you'll experience a disturbed nights sleep which can leave you feeling tired and sleep deprived on the morning. If you are hungry around your bed time, you will struggle to sleep as your mind is telling your body it needs food. It is best not to eat around 3 hours before you sleep, as your body struggles to digest the food properly which results in gas or stomach cramps in the morning. When you eat, it stimulates your mind and makes it difficult to settle down and relax into a sleeping state.

What not to consume when looking for a good night's sleep

Foods that are high in fat are not only bad for your health, but also can have a severe effect on your sleep. If you eat fatty foods regularly, your everyday movements become sluggish and can lead to a disturbed night sleep. The amount of preservatives and colourings in foods which are high in fat keep your mind active throughout the night, resulting in a restless sleep.

If you consume an excess amount of caffeine throughout the day, it can seriously affect the quality of sleep you get. The caffeine stimulates your mind, and when you are ready to wind down and relax at the end of the day you will find it difficult to stop concentrating or thinking about other things. It is important to have a clear mind when preparing for sleep, as worrying too much leaves you stressed not only that you cant sleep, but also that you are not going to get enough.

Alcohol should also be avoided to get a healthy night's sleep; immediate effects relax you however your body tries to counteract this by producing adrenaline and disturbing your sleep. Avoiding these substances when in search of not only a good night's sleep but also a healthy diet means that you can transfer from being alert throughout the day to in a relaxed state when it is time to sleep.

Recommended foods to aid health and sleep

Nutrient rich foods which are high in tryptophan, a natural chemical which helps to regulate your body's sleep-wake cycle, are essential not just to maintain sleep hygiene but are also key in leading a healthy diet. Eating right and at the appropriate times is crucial to maintaining a balanced diet and healthy weight, all crucial for a good night's sleep.

Even when eating large healthy meals, it is important that you leave an appropriate amount of time to digest the food properly before resting. If you do need to have a light snack, there are many healthy alternatives which can help you to get an undisturbed sleep. Foods such as cod, turkey, warm oatmeal and cereal all contain tryptophan which produces melatonin in the brain and promotes a tired feeling. Warm milk has been a favourite of many, as its relaxing side effects are recognised in helping you to wind down at the end of the day and ease you into a resting state.

Consuming healthy foods is important to keep weight down, regulate your sleep routine and provide the energy to exercise regularly. If you have a good night of undisturbed sleep, it means you do not need to over eat foods, so you can eat healthily and live a balanced lifestyle. Sleep plays an elemental role in your day to day life, and any slight variation in your sleep routine can jeopardise the quality of sleep you get. Establishing healthy sleep hygiene may take some time, but if you can maintain it you will begin to appreciate an increased quality of life.

Tags: healthy eating sleep hygiene sleep-wake cycle

Category: Sleep Research

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