I recently read a magazine article which focused on sleep and what factors affect our ability to get a good nights rest. We all know that there are many things in our daily life which will have an impact on this area – stress, anxiety, work hours, illness, drugs, exercise, social habits, babies, pain, body temperature, diet, and the list goes on….
I am going to focus in part on food. Research tells us that there are certain foods that can help you get to sleep. This list includes foods such as bananas, nuts and peanut butter, milk, apples, fish, yogurt, cheese (particularly cheddar, Swiss, gruyere), soy products, lettuce (think The Tale of Peter Rabbit and the Flopsy Bunnies – soporific effect) and there are certainly others that I have missed. Why are these foods recommended over others?
The thing that these foods have in common is that they are high in something called tryptophan. Tryptophan is an amino acid which the body cannot make itself but is needed by our nerve cells to make serotonin. Serotonin is a brain neurotransmitter that helps promote feelings of relaxation, calmness and sleepiness. We need enough of this hormone serotonin in our system to get to sleep and this in turn is dependent on our tryptophan levels. Tryptophan is also in competition with other amino acids to reach the brain.
Interestingly, it is NOT recommended that we load ourselves up with these magic sleep inducing foods.
It is important to understand that studies have shown that tryptophan helps with only one phase of our sleep cycle – that of getting to sleep. It won’t necessarily keep you asleep.
Our typical sleep cycle is divided into REM and non- REM sleep. REM (or rapid eye movement) is the stage of sleep when we dream. Non-REM sleep is divided into four stages of sleep – stage 1 being lighter sleep through to progressively deeper stage 4 sleep, followed by REM. This cycle usually takes about 90 - 120 minutes, and we have about 4 or 5 of these cycles a night, with the amount of REM increasing in length with each cycle.
Excess tryptophan has in fact been shown to increase the amount non-REM sleep and actually decrease REM sleep time. Deep sleep is an important time for the body to renew itself and REM sleep an important time for the brain to process and sort information. It is linked to both memory and production of certain neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine which directly affect our day time mood.
From my research, there seems to be a general consensus about meals for sleep.
It is recommended that you eat a lighter rather than heavier evening meal about 4 hours prior to your usual bed time so that you body is not working overtime at active digestion.
Evidence shows that eating a small carbohydrate rich snack with tryptophan containing foods (a protein) 1 -2 hours prior to bed to be beneficial. Carbohydrate consumption stimulates the release of insulin which assists in transporting those competing amino acids from the bloodstream, making tryptophan more readily available.
Select your proteins (and portions) wisely as many animal foods high in tryptophan are also high in other amino acids (like tyrosine) which potentially stimulate the brain with the release of adrenalin for example and can have the opposite desired effect.
So that warm glass of milk as a snack before bedtime is a good idea to help you get to sleep but only if you are taking a considered approach to your overall dietary habits (not just focusing on specific foods) and addressing any other potential sleep stressors.
For more information on setting yourself up for a good nights sleep and creating healthy sleep habits, you can download our sleep hygiene recommendations available on our website.
Lisa
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