If you aren’t getting a good night’s sleep, we might know the reason why. Read this article to learn more about the foods that help you sleep.
1 in 3 Americans has trouble sleeping. To get a good night’s rest, most people need around 7 hours per night. Whether it’s due to insomnia, anxiety, poor eating habits, or a bad mattress, not getting enough sleep can seriously impact your overall health.
When you wake up feeling tired, you might have a slower start to your day, become irritable more easily, or have trouble focusing. These behaviors can also impact your eating habits, and you might end up choosing foods that reduce your likelihood of restful sleep.
Eating healthy foods that make you feel good is essential for restful sleep. There are specific foods that can promote a better sleep cycle, and you’ve come to the right place if you are looking for inspiration.
What Is Sleep Awareness Week?
Sleep Awareness Week starts March 13 this year. During Sleep Awareness Week, daylight savings will cut an hour of everyone’s sleep, which can really set our sleep schedules back.
During this week, try committing to a bedtime so that you aren’t letting sleep procrastination keep you up for no reason. You may also want to avoid screens before bed and make sure that your phone isn’t hanging out under your pillow. Playing sleep sounds and lighting a candle before bed can help you get into the right frame of mind, but your body will be the one to ultimately decide how well you sleep.
If you aren’t feeling well, it might result in a poor sleep experience. Staying hydrated and eating nutritious foods can help put your body in sleep mode, and staying consistent with this may improve your sleep quality over time.
What Helps Us Get a Good Night’s Sleep?
Not just one action impacts how you sleep, but rather a myriad of things. You should limit your exposure to light at night but increase it during the day. This helps get your body into the rhythm of feeling tired when it’s dark and waking up when it’s bright.
You’ll also want to spend Sleep Awareness Week waking up and falling asleep at the same time every day. Keeping a consistent schedule can help regulate your sleep-waking cycle.
Another extremely important aspect of sleep health is our eating habits. You might be surprised by how important your eating habits are for your sleep duration and quality. Of course, we've all heard that an herbal tea before bed can help us sleep, but our sleep-wake cycle is actually much more complex than that.
If you are eating foods high in sugar and refined carbs all day long and into the night, it can impact the depth of your sleep, making it easier for sleep disturbances to appear.
Having acidic foods like tomato, alcohol, or caffeine in your stomach too close to bed can also cause heartburn and digestive trouble. The same concept applies to spicy foods and heavy sauces. Focusing on heart-healthy foods can combat these effects and help you sleep better.
If you are looking to change your sleep patterns and improve the quality of your sleep, you should add the following six bedtime snacks to your next grocery list.
1. Fatty Fish
Many fish—like salmon, trout, tuna, and mackerel—contain omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin B6. B6 is what helps to make melatonin, which makes you feel sleepy. Fatty fish also contain high amounts of vitamin D, which helps produce the serotonin that aids in the sleep process. One study found that people who consumed fish that had high amounts of vitamin D noticed improvements in their sleep quality.
2. Bananas
Bananas contain three key nutrients that help you to improve your sleep: magnesium, tryptophan, and potassium. These work together to encourage better sleep because tryptophan is an amino acid that helps to produce melatonin to make you sleepy, magnesium is a natural sedative that helps you to fall asleep, and potassium can help you stay asleep once you have fallen asleep.
For this year’s Sleep Awareness Week, try incorporating more bananas into your daily meals. Cut them up and put them on top of your favorite yogurt, add some to a peanut butter sandwich, or mash one into a smoothie. No matter how you eat bananas, the benefits will be the same.
3. Gluten-Free White Rice
White rice is a staple food that can be used in a variety of different dishes, making it a great option to include in your meals that helps to promote healthy sleep patterns. Even better, all natural forms of rice are gluten-free — white rice included.
White rice has a high glycemic index, which means that white rice promotes a natural increase in your blood sugar and insulin levels. This helps the tryptophan in your body get to your brain faster and promote a better sleep experience.
Again, white rice is very versatile, so you are more than likely to find a dish that incorporates it in a way that you enjoy. It pairs great with kale, lettuce, and other tasty greens. Having white rice an hour before bed can improve your ability to fall asleep easier and stay asleep for longer, so make sure you include some rice dinner bowls and some sushi in your meal planning.
4. Kiwi
One study showed that participants who ate two kiwis before bed found that they fell asleep 42% faster than if they didn’t eat any kiwi. Kiwi contains potassium which helps to keep you asleep once you’ve entered your REM phase, as well as a high concentration of serotonin to activate the tryptophan in your body.
You can eat kiwi as a snack, in a fruit bowl, or even in a homemade fruit salsa. There are plenty of ways to enjoy a fresh kiwi, so consider adding two to your nightly routine.
5. Yogurt
Everybody knows just how easy having a bowl of yogurt is. You can make it your own by picking out toppings you enjoy like sleep-happy tart cherries or dark chocolate, and you can even include yogurt in your favorite smoothies or dressings. Plus, adding whole grain oats can provide a natural source of melatonin.
Yogurt gives your body protein and probiotics that can help enhance your gut health, and this treat also contains calcium and magnesium.
Calcium is directly related to our sleep cycles. When people have a calcium deficiency, they might find that they are more easily woken from REM sleep, causing disruptions in their daily life.
By eating yogurt more frequently before bed, you help increase your body’s levels of calcium and work towards better sleep. Low levels of magnesium are also related to insomnia and the inability to experience deep sleep.
Different yogurts contain different levels of both calcium and magnesium. No matter which yogurt you choose, you might find that the more you consume, the better you sleep.
6. Nuts
One of the easiest foods that helps improve your overall sleep is nuts. There are a variety of nuts that you can enjoy, but almonds and walnuts have been thought to improve sleep quality due to their high levels of magnesium.
Consuming a handful of nuts before you fall asleep can help to fuel your body with melatonin as both almonds and walnuts contain that good ol’ melatonin to increase your feelings of tiredness.
When you’re making your next batch of trail mix, make sure to add in plenty of almonds and walnuts to make your well-deserved rest much more enjoyable.
Thistle Can Help You Sleep
When you put nutritious food into your body, your body thanks you. With improved sleep, your body can learn to regulate its sleep cycles better and create a more energized version of yourself.
While these are only six foods that help you sleep, there are so many more for you to test out. When you sign up with Thistle, you are provided with ingredients that have been specifically considered and included to benefit your own health.
If you are looking to improve your sleep quality, we offer ingredients like nuts, grains, and fruit in most of our meals so that you are getting the nutrients you need to actually see a change. Celebrate Sleep Awareness Week by trying out Thistle, and feel like a healthier you.
Sources:
1 In 3 Adults Don’t Get Enough Sleep | CDC
Sleep Awareness Week | National Sleep Foundation
Sleep In Elite Athletes And Nutritional Interventions To Enhance Sleep | NCBI
Fish Consumption, Sleep, Daily Functioning, And Heart Rate Variability | NCBI
Is Rice Gluten-Free? | BeyondCeliac.org
If you aren’t getting a good night’s sleep, we might know the reason why. Read this article to learn more about the foods that help you sleep.
1 in 3 Americans has trouble sleeping. To get a good night’s rest, most people need around 7 hours per night. Whether it’s due to insomnia, anxiety, poor eating habits, or a bad mattress, not getting enough sleep can seriously impact your overall health.
When you wake up feeling tired, you might have a slower start to your day, become irritable more easily, or have trouble focusing. These behaviors can also impact your eating habits, and you might end up choosing foods that reduce your likelihood of restful sleep.
Eating healthy foods that make you feel good is essential for restful sleep. There are specific foods that can promote a better sleep cycle, and you’ve come to the right place if you are looking for inspiration.
What Is Sleep Awareness Week?
Sleep Awareness Week starts March 13 this year. During Sleep Awareness Week, daylight savings will cut an hour of everyone’s sleep, which can really set our sleep schedules back.
During this week, try committing to a bedtime so that you aren’t letting sleep procrastination keep you up for no reason. You may also want to avoid screens before bed and make sure that your phone isn’t hanging out under your pillow. Playing sleep sounds and lighting a candle before bed can help you get into the right frame of mind, but your body will be the one to ultimately decide how well you sleep.
If you aren’t feeling well, it might result in a poor sleep experience. Staying hydrated and eating nutritious foods can help put your body in sleep mode, and staying consistent with this may improve your sleep quality over time.
What Helps Us Get a Good Night’s Sleep?
Not just one action impacts how you sleep, but rather a myriad of things. You should limit your exposure to light at night but increase it during the day. This helps get your body into the rhythm of feeling tired when it’s dark and waking up when it’s bright.
You’ll also want to spend Sleep Awareness Week waking up and falling asleep at the same time every day. Keeping a consistent schedule can help regulate your sleep-waking cycle.
Another extremely important aspect of sleep health is our eating habits. You might be surprised by how important your eating habits are for your sleep duration and quality. Of course, we've all heard that an herbal tea before bed can help us sleep, but our sleep-wake cycle is actually much more complex than that.
If you are eating foods high in sugar and refined carbs all day long and into the night, it can impact the depth of your sleep, making it easier for sleep disturbances to appear.
Having acidic foods like tomato, alcohol, or caffeine in your stomach too close to bed can also cause heartburn and digestive trouble. The same concept applies to spicy foods and heavy sauces. Focusing on heart-healthy foods can combat these effects and help you sleep better.
If you are looking to change your sleep patterns and improve the quality of your sleep, you should add the following six bedtime snacks to your next grocery list.
1. Fatty Fish
Many fish—like salmon, trout, tuna, and mackerel—contain omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin B6. B6 is what helps to make melatonin, which makes you feel sleepy. Fatty fish also contain high amounts of vitamin D, which helps produce the serotonin that aids in the sleep process. One study found that people who consumed fish that had high amounts of vitamin D noticed improvements in their sleep quality.
2. Bananas
Bananas contain three key nutrients that help you to improve your sleep: magnesium, tryptophan, and potassium. These work together to encourage better sleep because tryptophan is an amino acid that helps to produce melatonin to make you sleepy, magnesium is a natural sedative that helps you to fall asleep, and potassium can help you stay asleep once you have fallen asleep.
For this year’s Sleep Awareness Week, try incorporating more bananas into your daily meals. Cut them up and put them on top of your favorite yogurt, add some to a peanut butter sandwich, or mash one into a smoothie. No matter how you eat bananas, the benefits will be the same.
3. Gluten-Free White Rice
White rice is a staple food that can be used in a variety of different dishes, making it a great option to include in your meals that helps to promote healthy sleep patterns. Even better, all natural forms of rice are gluten-free — white rice included.
White rice has a high glycemic index, which means that white rice promotes a natural increase in your blood sugar and insulin levels. This helps the tryptophan in your body get to your brain faster and promote a better sleep experience.
Again, white rice is very versatile, so you are more than likely to find a dish that incorporates it in a way that you enjoy. It pairs great with kale, lettuce, and other tasty greens. Having white rice an hour before bed can improve your ability to fall asleep easier and stay asleep for longer, so make sure you include some rice dinner bowls and some sushi in your meal planning.
4. Kiwi
One study showed that participants who ate two kiwis before bed found that they fell asleep 42% faster than if they didn’t eat any kiwi. Kiwi contains potassium which helps to keep you asleep once you’ve entered your REM phase, as well as a high concentration of serotonin to activate the tryptophan in your body.
You can eat kiwi as a snack, in a fruit bowl, or even in a homemade fruit salsa. There are plenty of ways to enjoy a fresh kiwi, so consider adding two to your nightly routine.
5. Yogurt
Everybody knows just how easy having a bowl of yogurt is. You can make it your own by picking out toppings you enjoy like sleep-happy tart cherries or dark chocolate, and you can even include yogurt in your favorite smoothies or dressings. Plus, adding whole grain oats can provide a natural source of melatonin.
Yogurt gives your body protein and probiotics that can help enhance your gut health, and this treat also contains calcium and magnesium.
Calcium is directly related to our sleep cycles. When people have a calcium deficiency, they might find that they are more easily woken from REM sleep, causing disruptions in their daily life.
By eating yogurt more frequently before bed, you help increase your body’s levels of calcium and work towards better sleep. Low levels of magnesium are also related to insomnia and the inability to experience deep sleep.
Different yogurts contain different levels of both calcium and magnesium. No matter which yogurt you choose, you might find that the more you consume, the better you sleep.
6. Nuts
One of the easiest foods that helps improve your overall sleep is nuts. There are a variety of nuts that you can enjoy, but almonds and walnuts have been thought to improve sleep quality due to their high levels of magnesium.
Consuming a handful of nuts before you fall asleep can help to fuel your body with melatonin as both almonds and walnuts contain that good ol’ melatonin to increase your feelings of tiredness.
When you’re making your next batch of trail mix, make sure to add in plenty of almonds and walnuts to make your well-deserved rest much more enjoyable.
Thistle Can Help You Sleep
When you put nutritious food into your body, your body thanks you. With improved sleep, your body can learn to regulate its sleep cycles better and create a more energized version of yourself.
While these are only six foods that help you sleep, there are so many more for you to test out. When you sign up with Thistle, you are provided with ingredients that have been specifically considered and included to benefit your own health.
If you are looking to improve your sleep quality, we offer ingredients like nuts, grains, and fruit in most of our meals so that you are getting the nutrients you need to actually see a change. Celebrate Sleep Awareness Week by trying out Thistle, and feel like a healthier you.
Sources:
1 In 3 Adults Don’t Get Enough Sleep | CDC
Sleep Awareness Week | National Sleep Foundation
Sleep In Elite Athletes And Nutritional Interventions To Enhance Sleep | NCBI
Fish Consumption, Sleep, Daily Functioning, And Heart Rate Variability | NCBI
Is Rice Gluten-Free? | BeyondCeliac.org
