Food Remedies For Sleep

Getting a good night's sleep is incredibly important whether you are looking to gain muscle mass or lose body fat. When you short yourself on sleep you will not only see an increase in cortisol, which is a catabolic hormone in the body that promotes fat storage around the waist, but you will also likely experience an increase in cravings for carbohydrate rich foods as well as notice less will-power when it comes to resisting temptations that happen to pass you by.

While some people will turn to drugs in an effort to help them sleep, hoping these will solve all their sleep-related issues, for others it works much better if they look into natural ways to promote a healthy night's sleep.

Here are some foods that you can use to get yourself a good night's rest so you can face your fitness challenges will a full amount of energy.

Chamomile Tea

One of the big reasons why chamomile is such a popular choice for before bed is because it has a mildly sedating effect. Having it with a little added honey drizzled in is the perfect choice to help you prepare for sleep. The extra honey will help to tell your brain to turn off a specific neurotransmitter called orexin, which plays a big role in regulating alertness.

Oatmeal

Oatmeal again is a great source of carbohydrates, which will help to promote a good sleep. It will help to increase the bodies' natural release of melatonin, which is the supplement that most people take when they are looking for a way to induce sleep naturally.

Almonds

Almonds are another food that is rich in tryptophan and also contain magnesium so they make for a perfect snack before turning into bed. These are also very good because they contain a good dose of healthy fats, which many people are short in with their diets.

Bananas

Bananas have a high amount of magnesium in them which will help to relax the muscle tissues. If you are tight and sore after a hard workout, consider having a banana as a late night snack. The extra potassium in this food will help too with preparing your body for the next day's workout, as potassium is essential for proper muscular contraction.

Warm Milk

You've likely heard this before, however may have passed it off as a myth. Warm milk does in deed help you sleep due to the tryptophan it contains, an amino acid that has a sedative effect. The warm liquid also proves to be soothing to some individuals, which will lull them into a better sleeping (this could relate back to infancy when your mother would feed you before putting you to bed). Finally, the additional calcium helps to also promote a good night's rest as it helps the body use the tryptophan that's in the milk.

Bagel With Peanut Butter

Carbohydrate rich foods help you to get to sleep because they cause the body to release serotonin, which is a 'feel good, sleepy' hormone. Many people will find naturally that after eating a large carbohydrate meal, they feel considerably more tired. Time your carbohydrates during the day when they will work to your advantage! Top it with some peanut butter to get some healthy fats into your system so that the carbohydrates will be less likely to cause a big spike in blood sugar levels followed by a crash.

So if you are looking for a late night snack to put you to sleep, consider one of these options. Remember though that going to bed on a really full stomach is not always the best idea either as it will draw blood towards the digestive system and could make you feel uncomfortable. Instead try having the meal thirty minutes to an hour beforehand so you can allow for time to digest and also for the nutrients to kick in and exert their sleep-inducing effects.

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