Eat your way to better sleep: Here are some foods that will help you snooze
MILWAUKEE -- Registered dietitian Lisa Grudzielanek joins Real Milwaukee to about about foods that can help and hinder your shuteye.
Best Food to Promote Sleep
• Magnesium-Rich Foods
Magnesium promotes sleep and muscle relaxation
Magnesium deficiency can cause insomnia
Leafy greens, avocado, pumpkin and sesame seeds, almonds, black beans,
• Tryptophan-Rich Foods
Research shows that foods with tryptophan produces serotonin, which helps promote sleep
Turkey, eggs, milk, pumpkin seeds are good sources
• Vitamin B6 Rich-Foods
B6, is needed to make melatonin, a sleep-inducing hormone triggered by darkness
Chick peas, beef liver, salmon, turkey, chicken, banana
• Cherries & Tart Cherry Juice
One of the few food sources of melatonin
Have a handful an hour before bedtime
When adults with chronic insomnia drank a cup of tart cherry juice twice a day they experienced some relief in the severity of their insomnia.
Worst Sleep Stealers
• Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and high-fat foods
Keep your caffeine intake to under 300 mg per day and avoid it close to bedtime
Alcohol disrupts sleep pattern
High-fat food too close to bedtime disrupt digestion and restful sleep