Foods that help with your sleep.

How has your sleep been? 

Are you someone who gets a solid sleep, and wakes up in the morning feeling rested? Or do you have a hard time falling and / or staying asleep? 

Personally, sleep was something I struggled with for most of my life. It has only been in the past few years where I feel like I have a (way more) healthier sleep pattern.

I was told as a baby I would always be awake. Later on, I would experience some form of insomnia, (some more drastic than others) and was even on sleeping pills for a number of years as I got older. I no longer take anything to help me sleep but even now, I get sleep paranoid from time to time if I have a bad sleep - I fear I am going to fall back into old insomnia patterns and just never sleep again. 

Has this feeling ever happened to you? 

Sleep (or lack of) has such an influential role over our wellbeing. It contributes to things like our energy levels, digestion, our mental well being, cardiovascular health, regeneration of cells, nervous system, hormone activity, inflammation levels, and can even influence our weight. 

Our 2 main hormones that contribute to our wake and sleep cycle are cortisol and melatonin. Our cortisol peaks in the morning to wake us up, while our melatonin rises at night to help lull us off to sleep. This is our body's natural internal clock called the Circadian rhythm that helps to tell our body what part of the day it is. This action happens through our pineal gland. 

Melatonin in itself is a powerful antioxidant that has protective effects against certain types of cancers, as well as neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

Another way that our body can make melatonin is through our gut. Studies have found that there is more than 400 x melatonin in the gut, than in the pineal gland.

Tryptophan is an essential amino acid. This means that our body cannot make it on its own, and we need to get it from our food sources. 

Tryptophan can be converted into 5-HTP (5 hydroxytryptophan).  5-HTP  is the starting point for our body to make not only serotonin but also melatonin. 

A diet lacking in tryptophan or a  poor diet, an overconsumption of coffee and alcohol, lack of exercise, and overall physical and emotional stress can not only be detrimental to our gut but also hinder our bodies ability to make enough serotonin and  melatonin to meet our bodies demands. 

Here are some ways that you can help your digestion and your sleep.  

Chew your food thoroughly. 

When it comes to our digestive tract, this is the only part that we have conscious control over. You want to be chewing your food into a paste. This helps the rest of our digestive system by making it easier to absorb nutrients from our food. 

Eat a wide variety of whole foods

Eating a wide variety of foods not only helps us get a wide range of nutrients in our diet, but it also helps to feed a wide range of microbiota. When we don’t feed our microbiota what they need to survive, we can actually lose them as a beneficial ally in our gut. 

Include bitter foods 

Bitter foods stimulate your body's digestion by helping increase the amount of digestive secretions in your stomach that help break down food more efficiently. These are foods like arugula, dill, dandelion (roots or greens), kale, sesame seeds, turmeric, ginger, citrus (lemon, lime or grapefruit) dark chocolate (over 70%) to name a few. 

Eating foods with tryptophan

Tryptophan is found in foods like turkey, cottage cheese, chicken, eggs, red meats, soy beans, tofu, quinoa, oats, buckwheat groats and nuts (go for almonds). 

Having healthy digestion and a healthy gut microbiome are important for the breakdown of proteins.  When we support our digestive system, we are able to not only get a wider range of nutrients, but also feel the differences of those nutrients being assimilated in our body.

If you want 1:1 help on getting to the root cause of your digestive issues, or just want to improve your digestion, reach out for a FREE 20 minute consultation. I would love to connect and support you on your digestion journey.

Sleep tight.