Sleep is one of the best gifts given to man by the Creator. Imagine how life would be if there was no night at all, and one has to work for a good part of the 24 hours. Scary, right? Well, apart from getting an opportunity to rest, sleep also has several other benefits that you shouldn’t let pass you by. Unfortunately, sleep might sometimes elude you despite having had a stressful day, and of the several options available, natural foods that help you sleep better at night, are definitely worth a try.
In this article, I will be sharing with you 8 amazing foods that help you sleep better at night. Let’s hop into it.
Natural Foods That Help You Sleep Better
These foods and drinks are effective in improving your sleep because they contain sleep-promoting compounds such as serotonin, tryptophan, melatonin, flavonoids, folate, magnesium, anthocyanins, etc.
I will mention the foods alongside the compounds they contain.
1. Milk
If you have been a coffee lover for a while, and it is among the last things you take before going to bed, you might want to replace it with warm milk.
Apart from the good taste it has, milk is also one of the foods that help you sleep better at night. This is because it is rich in calcium, melatonin, Vitamin D, etc. and all of these are compounds that promote your sleep.
2. Walnuts
Sleep promoting compounds such as serotonin, melatonin, magnesium, and calcium are present in walnuts. While scientific research is yet to strongly support it, eating walnuts a few hours before sleep has been associated with a good night’s rest.
3. Add Fatty Fish
Fish contain Vitamin B6, which is important in melatonin production. Melatonin is important in regulating the sleep-wake cycle. Additionally, remember that serotonin is among the sleep-promoting compounds.
This compound is also regulated by omega-3 fatty acids and Vitamin D found in fatty fish. This includes Mackerel, tuna, salmon, and sardines.
With the right amount of serotonin in your body, you are more likely to fall asleep and have a good night’s rest.
4. Almonds
Apart from being a good snack for people trying to lose weight and avoid unhealthy fats, almonds are one of the natural foods that help you sleep better. This is because they are rich in melatonin, a hormone that is very important for regulating sleep.
Almonds also contain magnesium and other compounds. Other nuts you can eat are flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds.
5. Kiwi
Kiwi fruit can help you sleep better at night because it contains melatonin, calcium, magnesium, and other sleep-promoting compounds. More research is still needed to establish its actual relationship with sleep, but it is worthwhile to give it a try.
6. Warm Chamomile Tea
Taking tea is one of the ways to relax after a hard day’s work. Chamomile herbal tea has been used for quite a while to treat insomnia.
Its sleep-promoting activity is likely due to the flavonoid compound it contains. Just like several other herbs, its relationship with sleep is still unclear and more research is needed.
7. Dairy Products
Dairy products are also natural foods that help you sleep better at night. These include milk, yogurt, cheese, and crackers. They are rich in calcium. Calcium is important in regulating sleep hormones like melatonin and tryptophan.
8. Chicken
Eating poultry at night can also help you to sleep. Poultry includes chickens, ducks, turkeys, and geese. They contain tryptophan which is an essential amino acid that your body cannot produce and thus must be obtained from food.
It helps your body to make serotonin and melatonin; both are important hormones that enable you to sleep well at night.
Other Foods and Drinks You Can Try Include;
Tart cherries
Lettuce
Barley grass powder
Passionflower tea
Banana
Whole grains
Honey etc.
General Tips for Sleeping Better at Night
Using the foods and drinks mentioned in this article will go a long way in helping you sleep better at night. Nevertheless, for better results, here are some tips that will help you sleep better at night.
Do not eat immediately before sleep
Keep your phone away before you go to bed. If you can’t do this, use a lens that blocks out blue light coming from your phone’s or laptop’s screen.
Do not sleep in a noisy environment
Switch off the lights in your room
Reduce your intake of caffeinated drinks and snacks before sleep
Keep hydrated
Avoid alcohol consumption
Find the best mattress and pillow for you
Conclusion
Whether it is school activities, work at the office or factory, or some workout in the gym, our days are almost always filled with lots of activities. Getting a good night’s sleep is a sure way of taking a break from the hustle and bustle of the day.
Now that you have read our list of some of the foods that help you sleep better at night, you should also apply other good sleep etiquettes in order to achieve optimal results.
Have you tried using any of the foods and drinks above to improve your sleep? We would love to hear about your experience in the comments section
FAQs
I am 25 years old, what is the average amount of sleep I need per night?
For someone your age, getting 7-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep is recommended.
What other natural methods can I use to get better sleep at night?
You might want to try adjusting your daily activities to reduce stress and create a good sleep environment by avoiding noise and bright lights. You might want to keep your phone at least an hour before you go to bed.
I am having trouble sleeping, can I take sleeping pills?
Sleeping pills can come with a lot of side effects when poorly used, thus it is best prescribed by doctors.
What are the best foods that boost your memory? Will these foods reduce the length of time you spend learning? Will these foods make you smarter? Also, will it be better or more efficient than taking brain supplements to improve your memory? You are not the only one asking these questions. Researchers believe that eating a healthier selection of foods rich in phytonutrients will make you smart.
The founder of Kwik brain, Jim Kwik stated that a brainpower smoothie in the morning will boost your brain function throughout the day. When preparing meals, always make sure your meals are rich in vegetables, whole grains, and legumes. Healthier fats and oils, herbs, nuts or seeds, or fruits are the foods that improve your memory. Let’s look at some in detail.
Foods That Will Help Boost Your Memory
1. Fatty Fish or Oily Fish
Oily fish contains Omega-3 fats in the form of Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA). Essential fatty acids are from foods and they are important as they promote healthy brain function as well as hearts and joints. Foods containing fatty acids reduce the risk of developing dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and memory loss.
They help in lowering blood levels of the proteins forming damaging clumps in Alzheimer’s disease. To boost your memory, try eating fish that are not high in mercury at least twice a week to boost your brain function, or improve the structure of brain cells, have better-thinking abilities, and be smarter.
We have some fishing festivals in Northern Nigeria like the Argungu Fishing Festival. You should try it out.
2. Blueberries
Blueberries improve short-term memory loss as they contain anthocyanins. Anthocyanins reverse age-related deficits that affect neural and behavioural actions like memory functions. It aids in protecting memory and enhances brain performance.
It also contains flavonoids antioxidants that help in reducing inflammation and oxidative stress. These antioxidants present in blueberries help in improving communication between brain cells, reducing inflammation throughout the body. Increasing plasticity helps brain cells in forming memory, boosting learning, and forming new connections and it also helps in reducing age-related neurodegenerative diseases and brain function decline. Make sure you add a handful of blueberries to your daily meals or eat it as snacks or even add it into your cereals or desserts to improve your brain function.
3. Broccoli
Broccoli is high in glucosinolates and a good source of vitamin K. it enhances brain function and improves brainpower. It is Broccoli is high in glucosinolates and a good source of vitamin K. it enhances brain function and improves brainpower. It is also able to slow down the neurotransmitters hence, keeping your memory sharp. This food reduces oxidative stress and lowers the risk of neurodegenerative diseases since it contains isothiocyanates a degraded version of glucosinolates. It is also known to boost the health of the brain as it contains vitamin C and flavonoids antioxidants.
Try to incorporate broccoli in your meals at least twice a week to enjoy it.
4. Nuts
Nuts are considered foods that boost your memory because they contain Omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants vitamin E which protect cells from radicals that cause oxidative stress. When you take enough nuts, it might help prevent cognitive decline since it is rich in vitamin E.
You should consider adding nuts to your meals or eating them alone or mixing in your vegetable soups like Miyan Taushe or in your salads.
5. Avocados
Avocados are beneficial to the brain because it contains monounsaturated fats that help in reducing blood pressure and improve blood flow to the brain thereby brain function. They are good sources of carotenoids and vitamins that may help boost memory. It is also one of the healthiest ingredients for breakfast. It may also lower the risk of cognitive decline.
Eggs are essential to brain food as they are sources of vitamin B-6, vitamin B-12, and Folic Acid. Vitamins prevent brain shrinkage and delay cognitive decline. The yolks are also rich in choline that helps in nerve cell transmissions.
Also, it helps in maintaining the structural integrity of the cells of the brain. It helps in increasing one’s attention and maintaining focus. You can add eggs to your Danwake and enjoy it.
7. Whole Grains
To concentrate and focus either doing some tasks that need brain function or reading, you need energy and the energy is from the food we eat. We need to eat whole grains to get the energy to power our brains. This will solve the problem of losing focus or concentration.
Furthermore, whole grains are good for the brain because they release the energy in the form of glucose in the brain that goes to the brain and hence keeping you mentally alert for that day. Also, whole grains are a good source of foods that improve your memory as they are a good source of vitamin E. You can eat brown rice instead of normal white rice.
Take oatmeal as breakfast or even make a sandwich with whole-grain bread instead of the normal break you consume daily.
8. Soy Products
Soybeans are also known as Waken Soya in the North and it is a rich source of polyphenols antioxidants. These antioxidants are good in reducing the risk of dementia and they help in improving cognitive abilities in aging processes. You can make drink soy milk or you can make Tofu or “Awara” as a quick breakfast to enjoy the health benefit of this foods.
There are certain foods that improve your brain’s health and help in giving you stronger memory. Foods that boost your memory are foods that improve your cognitive functions. The brain requires nutrients to stay healthy. These foods will not only help in fueling to maintain focus but also reduce the risk of neurodegenerative diseases. There are also drinks and certain brain tips that can improve mental alertness and make you smarter.
What are the foods that improve your memory or cognitive function? Kindly leave your comments below or share them with your loved ones to let us know what your brainpower foods are.
Humans eat. We one way or another depend on foods to increase our metabolism, get the required nutritional requirements, and get the energy we need for our day-to-day activities.
What Is Metabolism?
Our bodies undergo chemical reactions that change the food we eat into the energy we use to get through our activities, from moving to thinking to working to feeling to growing, and that is metabolism.
Having a high metabolism in the body can give you energy and make you feel better. In this article, you’ll discover foods that increase metabolism in the body and that are mostly found in protein.
12 Foods That Increase Metabolism
1. Avocado
Avocado provides the body with necessary nutritional benefits as it contains fat and mono-saturated fats—these are the good fats that lower bad cholesterol. It also contains nine essential amino acids and omega-3 fatty acids.
Eating avocado has been proven to be a food that increases metabolism and keeps us healthy.
2. Milk
Whole milk does the body good as it is a good source of protein. More so, it is a bone-building food that increases our metabolism as it has calcium in it. Add this to your diet or drink it as a whole. You will still get the same benefits.
3. Beans
In addition, there are varieties of beans based on their color – black, white, red, and brown beans. Research suggests all varieties do good to the body but black bean does the most.
This food increases metabolism in the body as it is a complete protein meal.
4. Leafy vegetables
This is also one of the foods that increase metabolism. Leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale, asparagus, green peas, and broccoli help increase metabolism as they have a high content in protein, iron, and magnesium. Iron is required to accelerate the metabolic rate in the body. It also helps in the growth and development of the body.
5. Soy-bean
This is a versatile protein food that increases metabolism, as it could be consumed either as tofu or soy-bean milk. Make sure to make tofu with a healthy oil such as sesame seed oil, coconut oil, grapefruit oil, or hempseed oil.
6. Eggs
Eggs are low in carbohydrates, an excellent source of protein, and contain vitamin B. Eat your eggs in any way you desire—cooked or fried—but make sure you use a good source of healthy oil.
7. Spicy Foods
Chilli pepper! Studies show that spicy foods have natural chemicals that boost metabolism in the body. Add chilli pepper or chilli flakes to enjoy that pasta as it is guaranteed to increase metabolism in the body.
8. Ginger
This root spice is also versatile as you could grate/mince them to your meal or use them in their dried form. Add this to a meal or the dried form to your tea as breakfast to get that energy and boost you require.
9. Fish
This is also one of the foods that increase our metabolism. Our bodies burn calories when we eat protein; replace those carbohydrates with protein to boost metabolism in our body. In addition, fish is a great source of protein, be it salmon or tuna.
10. Seeds
Good foods that increase metabolism in the body are found in these seeds: hemp seed, flaxseed, and lentils. Another is chickpea, as it has a high protein content. Chickpeas are cooked, eaten, and sometimes topped with these varieties of seeds.
11. Green Tea
Furthermore, green tea is one of the foods that increase our body’s metabolism. Studies show that drinking 2–4 cups of green tea a day pushes the body to burn 17% of its calories. They are also anti-inflammatory.
12. Coffee
Coffee increases body metabolism due to its high caffeine content.
Other Ways of Increasing Metabolism in the Body
1. Water: Drink enough water before and after every meal, as this keeps you hydrated and fills you up.
2. Adequate Sleep: Have a good night’s rest for at least 8 hours. This helps keep you sane, active, and well-rested.
3. Exercise: Sitting too much is bad for you, and even doing nothing, in particular, makes your body burn calories. So, walk, run, and stand more often if you can. Have a routine you do at home to activate those core, glutes, and muscles.
Protein is the most effective for increasing metabolism because the body needs to use more energy to digest it than it does carbohydrates.
Eat a balanced diet if you can, stay hydrated, get adequate sleep, and exercise too; you’re on your way to increasing the metabolic rate in your body. I hope this article helped you by telling you about foods that increase metabolism in the body. Add them to your meal when you can, thank you!
