Insomnia appears as one of the main concerns of the Spanish population, the proof of this is that 12% of Spaniards suffer from chronic insomnia and 30% say they wake up feeling like they haven’t rested.
[Los ‘somníferos’ que se compran en el ‘súper’: 15 alimentos para dormir como un tronco]
All this, in addition to everyday worries and the current busy rhythm of life, can lead us to frequent awakenings during the night or directly make us get up earlier and earlier than expected. In short, more and more common sleep disorders, which you can start to fight with the well-known 4-7-8 breathing technique, but in which nutrition can also play a fundamental role.
And did you know that there is a list of superfoods that they can help you sleep like a log? In this article, we want to specifically talk about seven of them. Foods that can now become the best allies of your diet in the fight against insomnia naturally.
As we expected you, diet can become a great ally and, not only to help maintain iron health or to avoid disorders and diseases such as obesity, diabetes or high blood pressure, but it is also essential to help us cover all body functions, among them sleep.
Then we will specifically talk about seven foods rich in tryptophan, serotonin and melatonin, which can help you sleep better.
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Leche: Did you know that dairy products, thanks to their high content of tryptophan, help you sleep better? This is one of the reasons why a glass of warm milk before bed can be a relaxing habit that facilitates rest.
In this case, tryptophan is an essential amino acid that our body cannot produce, but we can get it from food, such as milk in this case.
Among other functions, tryptophan helps our body to obtain serotonin, better known as the “hormone of happiness”, which not only helps improve mood, but also other functions such as appetite, digestion or metabolism, sleep.
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Kiwi: This fruit is also high in serotonin. To this should be added the existence of a study in which it was observed that people who ate two kiwis a day an hour before going to bed for a month improved their sobriety and the duration of their sleep.
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Cereals: And in this case, cereals can be another one of those superfoods that will help you fall asleep more easily. And that is that, on the one hand, they are an excellent source of carbohydrates, which help increase the amount of tryptophan available to become serotonin, and part of it later into melatonin, a hormone that also promotes sleep and which you can also find in some grains such as oats, rice and corn.
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Blue Fish: the high content of omega 3 fatty acids and vitamin D found in fatty fish and fish like tuna and salmon can also help you sleep better. Reason? They seem to play a key role in regulating serotonin levels.
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Aves: On the other hand, meat like turkey or chicken is also a great source of tryptophan.
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walnuts: Almonds and walnuts are two nuts that are very rich in melatonin.
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infusions: Drinking an infusion of chamomile, linden, lemon balm, valencia or passionflower at least one hour before bed can also help you relax. Although you should then control the amount of fluids you drink during dinner to prevent it from altering your sleep cycle.