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Can food help you sleep better? Sure it can along with less stress, the activities you do before bed and the right environment conducive to sleep. Let’s take a look at my top 5 foods to eat before you go to bed and why they help you sleep better.
Tart Cherry Juice
Tart cherries are known to boost natural levels of melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone in your body produced by the pineal gland which is about the size of a pea. When the level of melatonin raises you become less alert and sleep becomes more inviting.
Almonds
Almonds are rich in Magnesium. Magnesium acts as a muscle relaxer by removing the calcium from your muscles and getting it back into your blood stream where you need it. The more calcium you have in the blood stream the deeper your REM sleep can be.
Kale
Kale is not only a superfood it’s also a super sleep food. Kale is rich in calcium and as I mentioned above calcium helps REM sleep. Not only have studies found that during REM sleep your body has its highest levels of calcium, it’s also been found that a calcium deficiency is linked to short and disrupted REM sleep cycles. Another important function of calcium is that it helps the body use tryptophan to create melatonin. Melatonin is the “body-clock” hormone.
Bananas
Bananas are well known for being rich in potassium but they are also rich in Vitamin B6 which is needed along with tryptophan to create melatonin. 1 banana has aproximatley 20% RDA of Vitamin B6. It does not take many bananas to get a healthy dose of B6.
Lettuce
Salad? Yes please! Lettuce with dinner or before bed can help speed up sleepy time. Lettuce contains lactucarium which has sedative properties that affects the brain similarly to opium. Crazy right? Check out this definition from Wikipedia. “Lactucarium is the milky fluid secreted by several species of lettuce, especially Lactuca virosa, usually from the base of the stems. It is known as lettuce opium because of its putative sedative and analgesic properties. It has also been reported to promote a mild sensation of euphoria, and at least one fatality has occurred during an attempt to use it for intoxication. Because it is a latex, lactucarium physically resembles opium, in that it is excreted as a white fluid and can be reduced to a thick smokable solid.”
For more information visit www.rawfoodcentral.com
