If there are foods that can prevent you from sleeping, there are also foods that can help to give you a good night sleep. So if you are having difficulty dozing off to sleep, you can try some foods that can induce sleep naturally.
Here are some of the foods that help to promote sleep:
Cherries can help to take you to dreamland because it naturally contains melatonin, the chemical that regulates your body’s sleeping patterns. Eating cherries an hour before bedtime can help to make you feel sleepy. Eating tart cherries is also recommended for travelers who want to sleep on the plane.
Bananas are loaded with potassium and magnesium which produce a relaxing effect on your muscles. It also contains L-tryptophan, the base chemical that your body converts to serotonin and melatonin.
Toasts are carbohydrate-rich foods which stimulate the body to produce insulin. This triggers the release of tryptophan and serotonin. These are substances that relax your body and induce you to sleep.
Oatmeal is another carbohydrate-rich food that boosts blood sugar levels and trigger insulin production in the body. Insulin is responsible for the release of relaxing, sleep-inducing brain chemicals tryptophan and serotonin. Another factor that makes oats a good sleep inducer is its being rich in melatonin.
Anyone who advises you to drink milk before sleep is giving you a sound advice. Milk contains L-tryptophan, the amino acid that the body converts to serotonin. This chemical has a relaxing effect that can help to bring you to sleep.
Milk is also rich in calcium, a mineral that helps to keep your heart, muscles and nerves in perfect condition.
These are some of the foods that help to promote sleep. If you have difficulty sleeping, you don’t need to rush for sleep-inducing drugs which can have harmful side effects. Try these foods instead. They are natural, healthy, cost-effective and best of all – they are safe.