Snacking habits do play a role in how well we sleep. Anyone having trouble falling asleep may want to give some consideration to the type of snacks as well as eating overly close to bedtime. If you could use some help in getting more sleep, you should be aware of the best bedtime snacks that could be all that it takes to reverse that inability to sleep problem.
Your first thought may be a glass of warm milk or something else full of tryptophan such as a turkey or a chicken sandwich. While it may be true that an amino acid like tryptophan stimulates an increase in serotonin in the brain for the needed hormone of melatonin that induces sleep, there is no hard evidence that one glass of milk (which has the more tryptophan) or that turkey or chicken sandwich could help that much. On the other hand, milk also has calcium that when combined with tryptophan can be absorbed by the body and increase its effectiveness.
Believe it or not, you would have to eat about nine pounds of turkey, which has slightly less tryptophan than chicken to speed up sleeping. Though you may argue that you always feel ready for a nap after Thanksgiving dinner, the reason has more to do with the amount of food that you just consumed working through your digestive system than the turkey.
One of the best snacks to help fall asleep is turning to walnuts with all they can offer. In particular, the more expensive black walnuts are impressive with the highest protein content of any tree nut besides all their antioxidants, polyunsaturated fatty acids, phenolic compounds, and an outstanding quantity of melatonin to contribute.
Walnuts do have calories that you also need to be concerned with. One cup has 523 calories, but you safely eat 1/4 cup of shelled walnuts at 193 calories.
Honey is another of the these ideal snacks to think about to a cup of chamomile tea with its calming components, namely glycine among others or even a cup of hot milk. The reason honey can promote sleep is because it lowers levels of the orexin neurons in the brain that keep you alert. It causes blood glucose to raise slightly to produce enough insulin to stimulate tryptophan as well.
Among some others of these foods for help with sleep are turning to bananas. They have a lot of tryptophan and wonderful minerals like potassium for helping the muscles relax. The only drawback to bananas is the amount of mucous they can create that could run down your throat to cause coughing in the night.
Edamame or any legumes for that matter are yet another of these snack choices because of all their isoflavones among their nutritional benefits from protein, minerals and a wonderful contributor of B vitamins. The big deal about isoflavones is they can stir up serotonin production to help with sleep. You just may to snack on some hummus.
After dinner snackers striving for a better night of sleep may discover that these best bedtime snacks may mean the difference between restlessness and actual sleep.
