Better food for better sleep

Now-a-days everything has changed in our way of living. Life became more busy and stressful. We automatically left  our healthy habits and small joys behind. Because of this busy life, we are facing Problems like tiredness, irritation, head-ache, back-ache and snappy. We think these are negotiable things and the solution for all these problems we think is second cup of coffee. Right?

 All these could be signs of sleep deprivation. It has been found that lack of a day of sleep can bring the productivity of a person down by thirty percent.

In this busy fourteen hour work shifts and increased stressful life, the first casualty is sleep. Adding to this , our intaking of unhealthy diet  is leading us to the condition of Insomnia. The words “early to bed and early to rise make a man healthy, wealthy and wise”  holds true here.

It has been proved that the hormone melatonin is essential for a good night’s sleep. The hormone is mostly produced after sunset and remain high for up to twelve hours. Children produce more melatonin than adults and that’s why they sleep longer than adults. The production of the hormone decreases with age, and hence it is called the Dracula hormone.

It is best to sleep an hour or so before midnight, to ensure seven to eight hours of sleep before sunrise. Even while travelling, one could easily wear an eye-mask, automatically creating darkness, thus releasing melatonin.

The Indian diet is best to increase secretion of this hormone. For example, earlier, eating Tulsi leaves daily was a common practice. So, incorporate this natural stress-buster in your diet, either in your tea or toss it in your salad. Certain vitamins and minerals like selenium, potassium and calcium help increase the secretion of melatonin. Also, food with high glycemic index like potatoes and grains, food containing antioxidant lycopene like tomatoes and dairy products like milk help you sleep better. Here are some diet must haves far a good night’s sleep:

Calcium: nachni, kidney beans, Bengal gram, green turnip, mustard seeds, dried colocassia leaves, curry leaves, amaranth, tomatoes, all leafy greens, dry figs, sesame seeds, chickpeas etc..,.

Vitamin B6:  Brown Rice, Wheat, Lentils, Potatoes, Sunflower seeds, Bananas etc….

Potassium: Finger Millet (Ragi), Split green gram, split red gram, split black gram, Roasted Peas, Split Bengal gram, lotus stem, sweet lime, peaches, fresh apricots, rohu fish, prawns etc…..

Vitamin C: Lemon, Guava, goose berries, drumstick and its leaves, turnip greens, cabbage etc…..

Selenium: Wheat germ, Barley, Oats, Brown Rice, Turnip, Garlic etc…

Magnesium: Nachni, Green gram, Whole Wheat, Betel leaves, Dry coconut, Walnut, Mustard seeds etc…

To ensure a good sleep, regime to be followed:

ü  Snack on bananas and sunflower seeds after five.

ü  Try and include a tomato salad with seeds and basil to your dinner.

ü  Temper your vegetables with mustard seeds .

ü  Eat Ragi or Rice with dal, fish or yogurt.

ü  Add a leafy green vegetable.

ü  Squeeze lemon on food.

ü  Satisfy your sweet cravings with dry apricots, figs or a spoon of honey.

ü  Add honey to your glass of lemonade or milk.

Avoid large, fatty meals and spicy food at night. Also, avoid alcohol and caffeine in all forms after evening and before bed. Certain fragrances like lavender help you calm down and sleep faster. So it might be beneficial to have an infusion of lavender aroma in the room or a few drops in your bath water.