Sleep Better this Week, Choose the Best Foods

How good it feels to get solid sleep!
Healthy sleep clears out inflammations and neurotoxins, restoring the body in umpteen ways.

If we want to sleep well, might avoid evening caffeine and greasy spicy heartburn suppers.
We would want a light supper with plenty of veggies.
(Food Combining suggests not to eat carbs with meat – for best digestion.)

Our natural serotonin (neurotransmitter) and
melatonin (hormone) enhance good sleep cycles.

Sugary refined carbs can deplete serotonin levels.
So eating white bread, cake, cookies and desserts in the evening could impair your sleep.
(Yet complex whole-grain carbs like popcorn might be fine for a bedtime snack.)

Before bedtime try high melatonin foods like:
walnuts
almonds
raspberries
tart cherries or their juice.

Eating two kiwis 1 hour before bedtime will boost your folate level which helps the brain produce both serotonin and melatonin.

Chamomile or ginger tea in the evening brings in calmness.

Tryptophan is an amino acid which increases serotonin levels.
Tryptophan is abundant in lean protein like turkey, chicken, fish, low-fat cottage cheese, milk, tofu, pumpkin seeds, or peanuts. (Warm milk is a traditional tryptophan sleep-enhancer.)

Insomnia can arise from dehydration.
The brain can’t fully relax if it is too dry. It likes to be saturated in water.
To hydrate the brain at bedtime, drink two glasses of water and put a pinch of salt on your tongue to dissolve. (Find out why this works.)

Beyond food and drink:

bedtime meditation can relax the body and deepen the sleep.

Get your good sleep with this simple breath count – 4 beats inhale – hold for 7 – exhale for 8 beats.

Massage the special acupressure points for sleep.

Use Meridian Tapping to release the worries and emotions of the day. When I tap at bedtime, I love the way inner release leads to yawns and true relaxation.

Tell us, what are your favorite ways to sleep better?

6 Remarkable Powers of Sleep and How to Get There
 Why Should I Care About Meridian Tapping?

Diane Stallings RN does personal Tapping sessions by phone or video chat, Distance Biofield Tuning by phone or in-person, Chakra Balancing, and health coaching. She gives you practical ways to lift your wellbeing.  Make an appointment here.

Thanks to Pikist pics for these walnuts.